Let It Snow
by FastForward
Summary: The last thing Sasuke wanted to do for Christmas was be stuck in the middle of nowhere with buckets of snow and an annoying neighbour who won't leave him alone. NaruSasu.
1. The Dumbass

**AN: Not dead. FTL is coming to those of you who read FTL. Happy Christmas.**

**Warnings: YAOI! (yes, there will be explicit smut kthx. If you don't wanna read about two boys getting their jollies on, there's a nifty little thing called the back button.) That's about it. And it's a present for SkullyRae so it's NaruSasu, sorry.  
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**Character (c) Kishimoto Masashi.  
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**PS: Sorry for the long-ass year-long silence. I feel bad... Will reply to PMs, but probably not too many of the older reviews, I'm sorry :(  
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* * *

**Let It Snow.**

If there was one thing Sasuke Uchiha hated more than snow, it was Christmas. Generally, in Canada, both came hand in hand, which meant regardless of whether or not he could tolerate Christmas for the year, he was always going to get that fucking white powder shit! But luckily, his parents usually forced himself and his brother elsewhere in the world wherein he only had to suffer through Christmas, and not the snow.

For some stupid, retarded reason, this year, his parents—instead of going to New Zealand, like they usually did around Christmas—decided it would be nice to go to Europe. So, there Sasuke was, inside their summer home in England, staring out the window at the seventy-five centimetres of snow. He glared hatefully at it, almost blaming it for having ruined his otherwise horrendous Christmas. The snow made it so much worse than it needed to be, and now he was pissed off.

His annoyance was furthered when his older brother, Itachi, decided to come stand beside him, hands shoved deep in his pockets, and an emotionless expression on his face while gazing out at the white powder shit God had so kindly graced them with. It made Sasuke want to grab a fucking flamethrower.

"Don't act as though I'm any happier than you are," the older teen drawled, turning on his heel to walk away.

"Of course you are," Sasuke snapped, annoyed. "I'm miserable, aren't I? That always cheers you up."

"True."

Itachi disappeared from the room, and the younger boy returned to glaring out at the snow. It didn't help that—because they weren't usually there—they didn't have internet or cable yet. The heating, thank God, was working, but virtually nothing else was. If his parents wanted him to hate his life, they were succeeding.

"Who would ever choose to live in this God forsaken place, anyway?" Grumbling under his breath, he stood up and walked across the room, heading for the stairs. He was about to go get his computer to play a few video games, then remembered they had no internet, so he just stopped in the middle of the stairs, growling.

Sitting down, he decided to reflect on the term he'd just completed, knowing full well he'd passed everything but wondering which courses he'd done better in than others. English, of course, he would get an A. His professor thought him a genius—which he was, so that was convenient. He thought maybe Technical Theatre might be his lowest grade. He and the professor didn't see eye-to-eye most of the time. Sasuke liked to think he was far more artistic than the idiotic man who called himself his teacher.

Still, he'd done well so he couldn't be failed, but he knew he would probably only get a B due to the professor's hatred of him. He could live with that. Four A's and a B were pretty good. They weren't Itachi, but hey, his bastard of a brother was _perfect_. It was hard to compete.

He heard soft footsteps padding down the stairs, and pondered for a few seconds on who it might be, as his entire family was soft-footed. When they'd almost reached him, he concluded it was his mother, then looked up.

It was, indeed, his mother.

"Honey," she sat down beside him on the stairs. "Now, I know you're upset we didn't go to New Zealand this year, and you won't get to see your friends until next year, but your father and I wanted this Christmas to be special. We wanted it to be just us."

He felt kind of guilty when his mother mentioned his so-called "friends" in New Zealand. The Hyuugas were hardly friends, but he had to admit, at least Neji entertained him more often than not. He gave him something to do to keep his mind off the horridness that was Christmas.

"Why did we have to fly out to our _summer_ home, then?" If there was anything Sasuke hated more than Christmas and snow, it was flying. "If you wanted a family Christmas complete with snow, we could've stayed home."

"Oh, you boys." She hit him in the arm slightly, shaking her head. "Both of you, _really_." Sighing, she said nothing for a few seconds, looking out the same window Sasuke had been minutes before. "I knew if we'd stayed back in Canada, you and Itachi would have been going out constantly with all your friends. I'd hardly ever see you. And you'd complain about spending Christmas inside, with the family, like you always do. I figured if we came here during Christmas, a place where your friends are only present during the summer, maybe you and your brother would appreciate our rare family time a little more." She smiled and reached over, running one hand through his hair.

Sasuke made a face, feeling a little guilty, but not enough to forgive her for dragging him out here.

"Your father and I aren't going to be around forever, you know." She was brushing his hair away from his face. He knew she never liked his long hair—liked Itachi's even less—but she tolerated it because he liked it. "I know you hate travelling, and you hate Christmas, and all that other stuff, but can we please just make the best of this holiday while we can? When you have your own family, you don't have to celebrate if you don't want to, just—for me, just try and make this a good one. Please?"

Sometimes, Sasuke felt his mother knew how much she meant to him, and that he'd do anything for her. It was the only reason he replied with, "Yeah, fine. I'll try."

"Thank you." She kissed his temple just as his father made his way down the stairs, Itachi in tow looking very unhappy.

Well, to other people, they wouldn't be able to tell, but to Sasuke, who'd spent years deciphering his brother's expressions, he could tell that the slight frown meant something highly unpleasant was about to come out of his father's mouth.

"I've been told that if we want to have internet before the weekend, I need to go downtown to get a new router for it. I can't, however, leave the garage currently because between our arrival and now, we have, as you've all undoubtedly noticed, received a rather large amount of snow."

Sasuke's eyes flickered to his brother. Itachi was looking right back at him.

"As it's Christmas, we don't have anyone present to do the usual necessities like clearing a driveway. Since I don't want the internet to begin with, you and Itachi can sort out who's going to clear it so that I can get the car out."

"I don't even know _how_ to shovel a driveway!" Sasuke insisted, glaring at his brother. The other was looking back at him just as heatedly, both of them despising snow.

"It's pretty self-explanatory, Sasuke." His father sounded amused. He hated that! "You pick up the shovel, shovel the snow, and toss it away."

Fugaku turned to head back up the stairs, Mikoto pressing her lips together before standing quickly and following. He knew she was worried Sasuke would explode after she'd just asked him to try and make this Christmas enjoyable for all of them.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Itachi asked, eying his brother threateningly.

Sasuke held out a fist. "Best out of three."

Itachi glared. "Fine."

"Fine," Sasuke echoed.

They both held out fists and on the count of three, made their moves. The first one, Sasuke won. The second, he lost. He took a deep breath on the third time, and ended up losing.

"Fuck!" he exploded angrily, Itachi relaxing slightly, and a smirk teasing the corners of his lips.

"Have fun, little brother." Shoving his hands in his pockets, he went back upstairs.

"Laugh it up, asshole! You'll be doing it next time!" he yelled, and made a huge deal of pulling on his coat and stomping around the house in search of his boots. Yanking them on violently, he laced them up and then slammed the garage door.

He glared accusingly at the car, as if it were its fault he had to shovel the driveway, and then looked around for the shovel. He found a large metal one, but felt it looked more like it could dig holes than actually shovel snow—it wasn't an _actual_ dirt-shovel, but it looked like one—so he chose the smaller plastic one instead, grumbling the whole while and punching the garage opener.

The large door lumbered upwards slowly, exposing him to the cold, harsh air outside, and he glared at the snow covering his driveway. All the others on the block had been cleared, and he wondered if maybe someone came by and did them all, but the Uchihas hadn't paid, so theirs wasn't done.

"Asshole."

Realistically, he was sure it was probably someone inside the household, but one never knew considering everyone who owned a house here was rich. He felt like the poor kid on the block, which was ironic since his family was probably the wealthiest.

He trudged to the end of the garage, stopping just before the snow started, and narrowed his eyes down at it. _Well, might as well get this stupid fucking job over with. Then I'll have internet and I can bitch and moan to Shikamaru about how fucking stupid this Christmas is!_

Jabbing the edge of the shovel into the snow, he pulled it towards himself, a loud scraping sound meeting his ears as he used the shovel like a broom. He knew full well this wasn't the way to shovel snow, but he'd seen people on TV do it, and it looked like it made it go faster. So, he moved out further into the snow and continued to "sweep" the snow.

He got one line cleared, already feeling hot under his jacket, and sweat sticking his shirt to his back. He felt ridiculous standing out there, shovelling snow like some commoner, and wondered how anyone in their right mind would consent to doing this as a job, even for money! He wouldn't do this for the best fuck in the world, and that was saying something, considering he was currently lacking in that department.

People just didn't fuck you like they used to, he supposed. It was a shame, really.

Getting a second line finished, he stood up and wiped the back of his hand across his brow, feeling sweat forming there, and looked up briefly. He started to go back to work, and then glanced up again, somewhat startled.

There was a guy—probably only a year or two older than him—sitting on the front steps of the house opposite him. He was wearing a light jacket, no gloves, and no hat. It almost looked like he'd just been hanging out inside and decided he wanted to sit outside for a few minutes.

The thing that was getting to Sasuke, was that the fucker was _staring_ at him! Probably laughing at him when he wasn't looking. _Dumbass,_ he thought, annoyed, and went back to his makeshift shovelling. He cleared another row, feeling winded and finding it highly embarrassing considering how athletic he was, and glanced up. The guy was still there.

He continued slowly, clearing another row, and glancing up again. The guy was there, with a cup of something, now.

_Oh, great, so it's like a TV program to him or something. Fantastic. 'Look at the poor commoner shovelling his walk, teehee.'_ He frowned. _Did I really just think 'teehee'? This snow is doing weird things to me..._

It got to the point where he'd sweep snow for only two or three seconds, and then glance up. The guy was just sitting there! And he was totally staring, because if he was just thinking or relaxing or whatever, he wouldn't have had his damn bright eyes locked on Sasuke. Every time Sasuke was on the left side of the driveway, so were the other's eyes. Whenever he was on the right side, so were his eyes.

Finally, it got unbearable enough that he just threw the shovel down, turned fully towards the other house, and shouted, "What?!"

The teen on the steps didn't seem surprised. It was almost as though he'd been patiently waiting for the Uchiha's explosion. "It's not a broom, you know."

"What?" Sasuke demanded again.

"The shovel you're holding?" The guy pointed towards the shovel with his free hand, the other still holding his cup of—whatever. "It's a _shovel_. Not a broom. Stop sweeping the snow, it's taking you twice as long as it should be."

"And what do _you_ know about shovelling snow?" Sasuke accused, feeling sure the other was making fun of him, now.

"Uh, a lot, considering I spend Christmas here every year, and every year, I'm the one outside shovelling the driveway." The guy smiled at him, showing off a flash of brilliantly white and perfectly straight teeth before taking a sip of his drink.

The Uchiha felt a flush creeping up the back of his neck, and he hoped that from this distance, the other couldn't see it. He bent down to snatch back up his shovel, wielding it threateningly towards the other teen.

"Well if you're such a damn _expert_, why don't you come over here and shovel _my_ driveway?"

"And miss out on watching you gripe and moan?" The guy was fucking grinning again. "Not a chance, princess."

"Fuck you, dumbass." Sasuke turned away from the other and went back to his shovel-sweeping. By the time he'd finished another row, and looked up, the other was gone. He'd probably gone back inside.

"Good!" he snapped to no one in particular. "Guy was harassing me anyway!"

By the time half the driveway was cleared, Sasuke was so frustrated he started just banging the shovel against the cleared ground in annoyance. He'd been at it for at least an hour, he was hot, he was tired, and he knew the fucker across the street was laughing his ass off at him, and that wasn't cool!

"Banging that against the ground isn't gonna make things go any faster, you know?"

Sasuke jerked around to find the guy from earlier walking across the street with a shovel over his shoulder. He shrugged, a grin starting up on his tanned face once more.

"I felt bad for you. I've never seen anyone take this long to shovel a driveway."

"I don't need your pity-shovelling!" Sasuke snapped, slamming his shovel into the snow and starting to sweep it again.

"And just an hour ago you asked me to come shovel the walk off for you." The other rolled his eyes and turned around. "But I guess if you don't want help, I've got better things to do."

The Uchiha watched him start to walk away, then cursed internally and licked his lips. "Hey, wait."

Stopping, his neighbour turned to regard him, cocking his head to the side, and grinning again.

"Yes, princess?"

"Stop calling me that," Sasuke snapped. "Or else I won't bother asking for your help."

Rolling his eyes, the other moved back to the end of the driveway and started shovelling the _normal_ way, clearing a row twice as fast as Sasuke was currently doing.

The Uchiha's eyes kept flicking upwards to glance at the other as he worked, but his neighbour kept his gaze on the snow, moving quickly and fluidly to clear off the driveway. The raven went back to looking at what he was doing, too.

"So how come you don't have hired help clear your driveway?" he asked, just to make conversation.

"You're kidding, right?" The other laughed. "I don't have so much as a maid. My parents are pretty well-off, but the only spoiling I've ever gotten in my life was coming here every Christmas. We're not rich or anything, we just own two or three houses around the world that we rent out during the year when we're not there. I always shovel my own walk, and mow my own lawn, and all that fun shit rich kids like you don't get the privilege of doing." He looked up at Sasuke, grinning, and then winked.

"Hn." It was all he could think of to say. He'd always assumed everyone on this block were rich pricks, like him. During the summer they certainly were, and its only redeeming moments were when Shikamaru Nara and his family came down.

"So what's your name, anyway?"

"Wow, were you raised in a barn or something?" His neighbour snorted, shaking his head, having cleared another two rows. Sasuke felt he was showing off. "What kind of a question is that? Aren't rich kids supposed to go to like, rich kid school where they learn about manners?"

Stopping in his shovelling, the raven stood straighter, holding the shovel in one hand and regarding the other teen, who stopped as well. It was clear the "commoner" shovelled a lot because he dug the end of his shovel into the ground and proceeded to lean against it, cocking an eyebrow at Sasuke.

"What, do you want me to speak all high and mighty or something?" the Uchiha demanded, finding this idiot to be annoying, and almost wishing he hadn't come over to help him.

"No, but usually when asking someone else's name, you offer up your own first. How do I know you're not some crazy serial killer or something?"

"You wouldn't make my list of victims," Sasuke replied dryly, then sniffed and looked around. "My name's Sasuke."

"Sasuke..." The other pressed, grinning even more.

"Sasuke Uchiha, not that my last name matters," he snapped, annoyed. "What's yours?"

Rolling his eyes, the other pulled away from his shovel and started working again. "Nice to meet you, Sasuke, my name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Finally," the raven grunted, going back to his shovelling and finding that there was only about a row and a half left to do.

"Trying to make sure I don't make your Christmas list?" Naruto sneered. "Wouldn't that just break my heart."

"Are you always this annoying?" Sasuke demanded, stopping his work again, breathing hard.

"Sometimes worse."

He said it with such seriousness, the raven almost believed him.

Almost.

"Whatever."

They continued in silence, finally finishing less than two minutes later, Sasuke wiping off his brow. Then, without a word, the blond picked up his shovel, hoisted it over his shoulder, and walked back across the road. Sasuke watched him go, his chest rising and falling rapidly from the slight workout, and waited until the other's front door had closed before mumbling and thank you and going back inside.

* * *

By the time his father got home with the new router, and the internet was working, Sasuke couldn't be bothered to spend time playing any games. So, he just lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the idiot who lived across the street from him.

"I mean, seriously, it's not like I asked for his help, he offered it. He didn't deserve a thank you or anything."

He felt more annoyed at the fact that the blond hadn't said anything before disappearing back into his house. It was weird, and unexpected. He wasn't used to being ignored, no matter how much of an asshole he was. Girls—and guys, most of the time—flocked towards him regularly, and acted like he was God's gift to man.

Though really, he supposed things were different with straight guys—at first, anyway. They didn't tend to like admitting they were attracted to him, it made them feel weird. They usually came around, though, but even then, they were always unnaturally nice to him.

He sat up, biting at his thumbnail, a frown on his face. He couldn't understand what had happened earlier. Why had the other just walked away like that? Clearly he had no taste. Only someone with no taste would walk away like that. He hadn't even tried to ask Sasuke any questions, like where he was from, or where he went to school, or even how old he was!

"That's not normal." Fear started rising in Sasuke's chest. Maybe he was losing his touch?

Despite what people thought, Sasuke was very self-conscious, and very much depended on other people's opinions of him, and having that blond dumbass walk away from him like that made him feel like he was getting ugly or something. It wasn't a feeling Sasuke very much liked, and he had half a mind to go bang on the jerk's door and demand to know what his problem was.

He wouldn't, but he really wanted to.

There was a brief knock at his door before it opened, Sasuke looking up when light flooded into his previously dark room. Itachi cocked an eyebrow at him, then motioned out of the room, his silent way of saying dinner was ready.

Standing up with a grunt, he could feel a few of his muscles protesting the movement. Muscles he didn't even know existed were currently hurting from his snow-sweeping, and he wasn't looking forward to when it would be his turn again.

He sat down at his usual spot at the table, his mother passing him and kissing his temple lovingly before heading back into the kitchen. He sighed, and felt that his mother was the only woman alive who could get away with touching and kissing him as often as she did, and still keep all her limbs.

"You did a good job shovelling today," Fugaku said, beginning to load his plate with spaghetti noodles, Mikoto walking out of the kitchen with the sauce, placing it on the table, and then taking her own seat.

"Thanks," he muttered half-heartedly.

"I noticed the blond kid from across the road came to help with the last little bit." He passed the noodles on to Mikoto, and then grabbed the sauce. "You two talk?"

"Not really. He just made fun of my lack of skill." Sasuke picked up his fork and twirled it between his fingers, watching the light reflect off the silver surface. "Guy was a bit of an idiot."

"Oh, don't be like that," Mikoto insisted, passing the noodles along to Itachi and taking some sauce for herself. "I went over to speak to the Uzumakis after your father left for the store, they're very lovely people. And their son is so smart. You know he's going to McGill University in Montreal?"

Sasuke was lucky he hadn't started eating yet, or he'd have spat his food out. It wasn't the fact that the blond idiot had gotten into the top University in Canada, nor was it that he was in a University ranked number eighteen in the entire _world_.

No, the thing that had shocked him more than anything was, "He's _Canadian_?!"

"Of course he is, honey. He didn't tell you?" Mikoto smiled kindly, beginning to cut up her spaghetti. Sasuke was ignoring the nudging he was getting from Itachi to take the noodles.

"No!" He said it so vehemently that Itachi stopped nudging him.

"You'd like him, Sasuke. He's a sweet boy. He's in his final year, twenty-three years old, oh and he's so polite. I've never met such a polite boy in my life."

_Trust him to be a mother-charmer!_ Sasuke glared towards the front door, and then jumped when a noodle hit his arm. Itachi had started serving him, obviously annoyed with holding the noodles and not having the common sense to put them down.

Grunting a thanks, he helped himself to sauce before Itachi could, and then grabbed the Parmesan, scowling at his plate. So the blond was in the best university in Canada—which peeved Sasuke since he'd only gotten into the second best, which was Toronto University—and he was charming, and he was tall, and a year older! And tanned! God, the guy had everything, all that was missing was a stupid lightning bolt and he might as well have been Zeus.

"Um, honey? Isn't that enough cheese?"

Sasuke looked at his mother, then down at his plate and cursed, putting the cheese down. He hadn't noticed he'd been shaking it over his spaghetti all that time, and he had more cheese than he'd ever wanted.

Itachi leaned over and grabbed a spoonful, putting it onto his own spaghetti and the younger Uchiha nodded a thanks.

"Either way, I think you should go over tomorrow and see if maybe he wants to come and play video games with you or something." Mikoto smiled at her son. "He's a wonderful boy."

_Yeah,_ Sasuke thought, stabbing his food. _A wonderful pain in the ass._

* * *

When Sasuke awoke the next morning, and looked out the window, he just about threw a chair out of it when he saw it was snowing again. That meant the driveway he'd spent hours shovelling the previous day was covered in snow again! And he wasn't going to clear it until the snow stopped falling, because that would just be ridiculous, wouldn't it?

Rolling over, he realized he was worrying for nothing because it was Itachi's turn to shovel the driveway today, so regardless of when it was done, it wasn't him doing it. He sighed in contentment at this revelation, and cracked open his eyes again to check the time. It was relatively late, and he knew his father would bitch at him if he didn't get up soon, so he rolled out of bed, yawned, and then headed for the bathroom. He showered, and then dressed in loose pants and a long-sleeved shirt, making his way slowly downstairs. It had stopped snowing by now, and he smirked when he pushed open the kitchen door.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, honey," Mikoto said, moving towards him and kissing his temple. He winced, but said nothing.

"Morning," Fugaku passed him, holding a book. "Ready to earn your keep again?"

"Earn my keep?" Sasuke frowned, moving to the fridge and pulling out the milk. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your mother needs to go buy groceries for dinner tonight. Means we need the driveway shovelled again."

"Yeah, I know." He pulled out cereal and poured himself a bowl, then added the milk and replaced it in the fridge. "Itachi's turn today."

"Itachi went out."

Sasuke just about took the fridge door off. He turned slowly to regard his father, who looked somewhat amused. His mother looked worried.

"It's his turn!"

"He went out before it started snowing, Sasuke. So, unfortunately for you, it's _your_ turn." His father didn't look very sympathetic. "Sorry, but that's how life goes. Don't take too long this time, we want to eat dinner before eight."

If he'd thought throwing a fit would help, he'd have thrown one, but he knew it wouldn't so he instead just stomped towards the table and sat down, jabbing spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth and cursing colourfully—in his head, of course. His father would never tolerate such language.

He took his sweet ass time eating breakfast, practically scooping one cereal up at a time, but he found after about an hour that his father was going to come back downstairs and chew him out so, sighing heavily, he walked into the kitchen and put his bowl in the sink, then turned to grab his jacket _just_ as Fugaku came down the stairs.

Wincing, Sasuke knew he was going to get it when his father looked out the front window and then continued on towards the kitchen, slapping his son on the shoulder as he passed him.

"Good work. I guess yesterday taught you how to shovel more quickly."

Blinking, Sasuke ran to the window and looked out, seeing his driveway completely clear of snow, which it hadn't been an hour before. His eyes travelled upwards and he saw Naruto in the process of shovelling his own driveway. Narrowing his eyes, the gears started turning in his head._ There's no way... Why would he? After not saying a word? Had to be someone else. Maybe God took pity on me and heated up the driveway. Maybe it was Itachi._

He knew he was right in thinking it was the blond across the street, but the question was _why_?! And that was exactly what he was going to figure out, which was why he grabbed his coat, pushed his feet into his boots, and left the house without even bothering to lace them up.

Storming down the driveway, he looked both ways before crossing the street, even though he knew cars here were few and far between, considering they were in a compound. He reached the base of the other driveway, picked up a snowball, and threw it at the back of Naruto's head.

"Whoa! Ha! Ha! That's cold!" The blond jumped on the spot, brushing at the back of his neck, trying to get rid of the snow. Sasuke just glared at him. "Good morning, princess. Sleep well?"

"I thought I told you I didn't want your pity-shovelling!" Sasuke hissed angrily, glancing worriedly over his shoulder. His father would go ballistic if he found out it hadn't been Sasuke to clear their driveway, especially since Naruto had done theirs before his own. Clearly the kid was a snow-lover.

"A simple 'thank you' would suffice," the blond muttered, returning to his shovelling. "You're welcome, Sasuke, that I cleared your walk when I noticed your brother leave the house three hours ago."

"I never asked you to, so why should I thank you?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, finding this guy to be highly annoying. And he went to McGill? God, he was so angry!

"Are you always like this?" Naruto asked, pausing in his shovelling to regard the other.

"Like what?"

"_This_. Like you've got a broom handle shoved up your ass. Or," Naruto grinned, "a shovel."

Sasuke bristled but tried not to show how royally pissed off he was, if only because he could hear his garage door opening, and he didn't want his mother to see him beating the crap out of this moronic idiot!

"Hello, Naruto!" Sasuke turned to half-glare at his mother when she waved from the garage. He turned back to regard the blond who beamed and waved back jovially.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Uchiha. Enjoying the weather?"

"Oh, it's lovely. So nice and crisp. I'm happy to see you and Sasuke getting along."

Sasuke snorted, but his mother was too far away to hear. He heard Naruto give a low chuckle, as well.

"It's hard to resist my charm, ma'am."

"Sasuke, why don't you be a dear and help Naruto clear his walk?" Mrs. Uchiha motioned the shovel in the garage. "I'm sure he'd appreciate it." She waved at them both before getting in her car, Naruto smirking at Sasuke.

"Yeah, why _don't_ you be a dear, Sasuke?"

"Fuck you."

"After you," Naruto snorted, and went back to work shovelling.

Sasuke gave him an annoyed look, then turned on his heel, making as if he was going back to the garage to grab the shovel, but once his mother pulled out and was gone, he just turned around to fake-smile at Naruto, who was watching him, and jabbed on the garage door opener, giving the blond a small wave as the door lumbered shut.

He returned into the warmth of the house, hanging his coat back up and taking the stairs two at a time. Walking into his room, he moved to the window to look out across the street, kind of hating that his room looked out over the road. It meant he'd have to stare at the blond more often when he looked out of it.

Though currently, he decided it would be a good idea, as he could watch how the other shovelled snow and learn how to do it more quickly in the future. Especially since he wasn't expecting any more pity-shovelling from Goldie Locks.

Standing at the window—and feeling utterly ridiculous while doing so—he shifted his stance to match Naruto's, and pretended to be holding a shovel, moving his arms and hips in the same fashion as the blond. He was certain that he wouldn't be going quite as fast with snow present on a shovel, but he got the basic idea.

Just as he was about to turn away from the window, since Naruto was done, the front door of the other's house opened and a redheaded woman walked out. Sasuke watched, wondering what the blond's mother must be like, and found that she seemed to be pretty similar to his own mother, based on what he could see. He kept his eyes on them as the two exchanged a few words, and then cocked an eyebrow when the blond leaned forward to accept a kiss to the cheek from his mother. She smiled, patted his cheek lovingly, and then started down the driveway, turning when she reached the road.

Frowning, he saw Naruto duck into the house just as the blond's fucking twin exited, patting him on the shoulder and shutting the door. This man was older, and were it not for the loving way he and Naruto's mother were looking at one another, he would have sworn that it was the blond's brother. They were virtually identical.

"Wow. Well, same can be said for dad, Itachi and I, I guess..."

Sasuke found himself talking to himself a lot lately... He blamed it on the snow. Everything was the snow's fault. Global warming was the snow's fault.

He turned away again, scoffing, and grabbed a random book from his bag, falling onto his bed and beginning to read it. He got about a paragraph in before standing up and moving over to the window again, scowling out at the other's driveway. He didn't know what had compelled him to stand again, but now that he had, he was annoyed, and turned to step away again when movement in the top window of Naruto's house caught his attention.

Turning back, he squinted slightly against the glare off the snow, and focussed in on Naruto wandering around in his room. The thing that caught his interest, however, was the blond's state of undress.

"Was... not expecting that..."

He felt he should have, considering how quickly Naruto seemed to be able to shovel snow, but he hadn't expected quite that level of toneness. The blond's biceps were bulging, and his pectorals looked so firm he would have bet anything that a hammer wouldn't have been able to put a dent in them. And he wasn't even going to touch his thoughts on the blond's abs, because if he did, he would probably have to clean up drool.

Naruto appeared to be looking for something around his room, and ducked out of sight for a second, straightening again, apparently having found whatever it was. Then, he disappeared into another room and Sasuke could breathe again.

His first thought was with regard to how insanely toned and attractive Naruto was—when his mouth was shut, anyway—but his second...

_How the fuck is that dumbass so tanned?!_ He scowled angrily. He'd tried to get a tan his entire life, and ended up beet red, or as pale as he was now. Then again, the blond's mother had fairly dark skin, and his father as well, so he could only assume it was genetic. But—those muscles.

"Damn, he's probably good in bed."

"Who is?"

The raven jerked to the side slightly, not having heard his brother enter and finding it highly disconcerting that the other had been standing right beside him. He rounded on him angrily, narrowing his eyes, but they then shifted towards what he was holding.

"Where'd you get that?"

"I bought a box of them, they're in the freezer." Itachi took a bite out of the end of his popsicle. "Who's probably good in bed?"

"No one." Sasuke turned back to glare out the window, but he could still feel Itachi standing behind him slightly to the right. When the other took a bite of his popsicle again, he just stood there and listened to him chew. "Can I help you?"

"Probably not," Itachi said, bored. "I just have nothing better to do than aggravate you, little brother."

"You're shovelling the driveway next time it snows."

"No I'm not, you are. I have to do the dishes, you have to shovel the driveway."

"I'll do the damn dishes, I'm not shovelling that driveway a third time."

He heard a small sound akin to a laugh behind him and turned to glare at Itachi, the other cocking an eyebrow at him, then turning to leave the room. "Shovelling it a third time, Sasuke, would mean you'd have shovelled it a second."

Itachi disappeared around the corner, missing the shocked look on Sasuke's face, which quickly turned into one of annoyance. How did his brother know everything? The bastard was probably hiding out somewhere until the driveway was shovelled so he didn't have to do it. He wouldn't put it past him.

"Whatever."

Sasuke hesitated, looking out his window again, and then decided Naruto wasn't coming back, so he left the room to go grab himself a popsicle. When he returned with it, he stared at his computer sitting peacefully on his desk, and then moved it to the edge, climbing onto the wooden surface, and leaning back against the window ledge, looking out across the street and sucking on his frozen treat absentmindedly.

The blond had been in that other room for a long time, and it took him a few more minutes to realize he was probably taking a shower. And then he felt stupid for not having realized it before. Obviously, he'd worked up a sweat and was going to clean himself off, it was what any sensible person would do!

Sure enough, when Naruto emerged ten minutes later, he had a towel around his neck, and his hair was damp and hanging limply about his face, unlike how it had been the previous two times Sasuke had seen him. He was wearing a shirt and a pair of jeans, and seemed to be looking for something—again.

A few seconds later, he had a cordless phone against his ear, Sasuke frowning and wondering who he was talking to, and what they were talking about. He barely even noticed his popsicle was melting, he was too focussed on the blond._ Why is he laughing like that? Who the hell is he talking to?_

_Wait a second, why do I even care?_

It was true, why the fuck _did_ he care?! The kid was annoying, and frustrating, and... so gorgeous. God, when he wasn't talking, he was nice to look at. Sasuke would've been happy to just stay where he was and stare all day at the other teen. Though, he had to admit, he preferred him without his shirt on, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

The house phone rang shrilly out in the corridor, causing his muscles to tense in shock. He turned to look towards his door, then at his hand, realizing the popsicle was melting down his arm.

"Shit."

Climbing off his desk, he rushed to the bathroom and dropped the remainder of it into the sink, turning on the water and washing his arm off, a brief knock at the ajar bathroom door sounding behind him. He turned his head, Itachi standing in the doorway and holding the phone out to him.

"It's Bambi."

"Thanks." Drying off his hands, he grabbed the phone and moved back into his room, watching Itachi exit. "Hey, Shikamaru." He rubbed his eyes with his free hand, getting back onto his desk and leaning against the window ledge once more. "What's up?"

_"Uchiha, this whole Christmas thing is troublesome."_

"I know it is, why do you think I hate it so much?" The raven glanced back out the window due to habit, and his eyes immediately shifted to the movement on the second floor once more. Naruto was still on the phone, as well, though his conversation appeared to be far more enjoyable than Sasuke's.

_"My mother wants me to wear a suit, Sasuke. A suit. Do you have any idea how annoying that is? For Christmas. A suit."_

"I'm shovelling snow, I don't pity you."

There was a long pause from the other end.

_"Wait, yourself?"_

"Do I stutter? Yeah, myself," Sasuke grumbled, playing with the edge of his shirt. "And I have the most annoying idiot across the street from me." He glanced up when he said this, and saw the blond wearing his jacket, looking around once more. Apparently, he lost things a lot.

_"Wow. I'm surprised you're not complaining more. This character, he attractive, at least?"_

His friend knew him far too well.

"When his mouth isn't open he is. Has nice muscles and his abs... I don't wanna talk about it."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto's window again, but the blond wasn't there anymore. Looking out down the street, he saw nothing, and could only assume the other was in his house somewhere. That, or the other had left and Sasuke hadn't noticed yet. Not that it was a big deal or anything.

_"So are you going to talk to him?"_

"No."

_"Stop being that way, you're stuck out there without me for two more weeks. At least try and make friendly so you have stories to tell me when you get home, jackass."_

"Whatever. Listening to me is 'troublesome' isn't it?" He snorted, looking out the window again. The blond was coming out the front door now. He jogged down the driveway and turned to make his way towards the front of the compound. "Besides, he's two-faced. Guy's a complete charmer to my mother and a dumbass with me."

_"You're not exactly the nicest person in the world, Uchiha."_

"You put up with me."

_"Only cause it's more troublesome not to."_

"Hn."

Sasuke didn't want to admit it was true, so he chose not to say anything. There was a moment of silence after that, something which Sasuke always found odd. Shikamaru called him a lot, but neither of them really enjoyed speaking so it was kind of redundant.

_"I better go. My mom looks annoyed."_

"Right. Have fun."

_"Merry Chris—wait, nevermind. Enjoy."_

Snorting, Sasuke just gave him a noncommital grunt and hung up, looking back out the window at nothing, his eye candy gone for the night.

Oh well. He wasn't that attractive anyway...

* * *

"Sasuke, honey, can you get the door, please?"

Sighing, annoyed, the raven sat up from his lying down position on the living room couch, making sure to mark his place in the book he was reading, and heading obediently towards the door. He opened it, and cocked an eyebrow, looking out at the sight at greeted him.

"What do you want?" He'd been raised better than that, but he really had no patience anymore.

"My parents invited you over for dinner," Naruto said with a brilliant smile overtaking his features.

"No thanks."

Sasuke started to slam the door in the other's face, but the blond's hand shot out and forced it to remain open.

"Look, you don't like me, I get it. I don't know _why_, but I get it. But this isn't me asking you to dinner, it's my parents. Have some manners and take the invitation."

Sasuke stared at him for a long while, then clenched his jaw, hearing his mother padding down the stairs behind him. If she overheard him, she wouldn't be upset, but she would certainly be disappointed with him. Letting out an explosive sigh, and glaring hatefully at the dumbass in front of him, he said, "Fine." and closed the door in the other's face.

"Uh, see you at seven then," Naruto called through the door. "Bastard."

He was pretty sure he wasn't meant to hear the last word, but as he did, he threw the door open angrily, Naruto halfway down his driveway, and snarled after him.

"I'll have you know, my parents were married many years before I was conceived, so I'm not a bastard, you dumbass!"

"Whatever, asshole!" Naruto called over his shoulder, kicking a pile of snow on the side of the driveway and then crossing the street to his own house.

He slammed the door again and turned around, his mother standing virtually right behind him, a puzzled expression on her face. She raised both hands and walked away, silently telling him she wasn't getting involved in whatever it was that had just gone on, and he was grateful. He wasn't all that eager to have to explain why he was yelling out the door that his parents were married when he came into the world.

"I'm going to dinner across the street," he informed her, heading for the stairs to shower. Then, he paused. "Unless that's inconvenient for you..."

"Oh, no, I think it's wonderful you're going." Mikoto smiled pleasantly, picking up his book and reading the back. "I think you'll enjoy Christmas a little bit more if you have someone to go out with at New Year's."

His hopes were snuffed out as quickly as they'd appeared and he continued sulkily up the stairs, disappearing into his room so he could take a shower. Just when he was about to go into his bathroom, he paused and took a few steps back, looking out his window.

Naruto was back in his room, the blond standing in front of what looked like a punching bag. He was still wearing a shirt, but the wife-beater made his bulging muscles very visible, and with each hit to the bag, they seemed to bulge even more.

Sasuke found himself unable to look away, his eyes glued on the blond as he punched the bag again and again, working up quite a sweat. After what seemed like seconds but had to have been almost half an hour, Naruto turned away from the bag. The Uchiha assumed he was done with his workout, but quite the opposite.

The blond pulled his wife-beater up over his head, tossing it to the side, and then turned around. Sasuke ducked instinctively, but slowly raised himself up again so he could look out the window, moving closer to it.

Naruto was doing pull-ups. There was a bar going along the top of his doorframe, and the idiot was actually doing pull-ups. Were Sasuke not so distracted by his amazing muscles, he might have said the kid was crazy for working out so much, but as it was, his brain was just recording the sight before him so it could loop over and over again later when he tried to sleep.

He was so focussed on his chest that he didn't even notice the other had stopped doing pull-ups, and only flicked his eyes upwards to the other's face when Naruto let go of the bar.

Onyx locked with Sapphire blue and Sasuke ducked again, feeling like an idiot, and half-embarrassed he'd been caught staring.

Dinner was certainly going to be interesting, now...


	2. The Bastard

**A/N: There is some higher being who refuses to accept I want to write... Every time I decide I'm going to write and like, finish shit, something fucking happens. Like right now. I am so sick and in so much pain, even typing this AN makes me want to cry, and the fucktard doctors can't tell me what I have. So sorry, shit's not gonna come for a while longer. If anyone knows what illness includes all your bones and muscles in screaming, burning agony, let me know, thanks. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.  
**

* * *

It was weird trying to get ready for a dinner he didn't even want to go to. First he didn't know how formal he should be, and once he'd decided on black slacks and a form-fitting white, button-down shirt, he felt horrendously overdressed. He wanted to make a good impression, but he didn't want to feel like he was trying too hard for Naruto.

Because he wasn't; certainly not.

And having been caught—well, he wasn't doing anything wrong! He just happened to be looking out the window. He was daydreaming and when he focussed his eyes again, Naruto happened to be staring at him because he'd accidentally been staring back. He'd ducked out of instinct. He hadn't been spying on him, of course not! Who would spy on _that_ blond idiot?!

Growling angrily, he kicked his desk chair and then turned to head out of the room. It was just past seven, and he didn't want to be too late, especially since he was right across the street.

"I'm going," he called through the house to his family, hearing only his mother reply, telling him to have a good time. "Not likely," he muttered to himself and left the house.

It was a short walk across the street, so even though it was cold, he didn't wear a jacket. He just jogged across the street quickly and rang the doorbell. Crossing his arms, he stamped one foot hard against the ground, as if to keep himself warm, and watched a shadow come closer and closer to the door.

It opened a few seconds later, Naruto holding the door with one hand, and leaning his other forearm against the doorframe, looking out at Sasuke with a suppressed smirk on his face. Sasuke clenched his jaw. He'd been hoping someone else would answer the door.

"I felt it would be best for me to wear a shirt this time, to avoid you drooling all over my mother's tablecloth," Naruto informed him.

Sasuke glared. "How thoughtful." His eyebrow twitched when Naruto continued to stare at him. "Am I gonna be allowed in, or what?"

"That depends."

"On?" The raven was just about ready to turn around and go home.

"Are you gonna be an asshole to my mother? Cause if you are, don't bother coming in."

The Uchiha almost said "fine" and walked away, but he really didn't want to disappoint his own mother. After all, she was the one who'd taught him how to act with other people's parents, and even if he was going to be a jerk to Naruto, it didn't mean the blond's mother had to suffer, especially if she was as nice as his own.

"I'll behave. Will you spank me if I don't?" Sasuke snapped, pushing past the blond into the house.

"Not if I know you'll like it," Naruto said, closing the door and shoving his hands in his pockets.

He passed Sasuke and led the way into the living room, the raven following behind him, looking around at the parts of the house he could see. It looked fairly similar to his own house across the street, but it was obvious Naruto had been telling the truth about his parents not being rich.

Though their paintings were tasteful, they weren't nearly as lavish as the ones his parents had, and the furniture didn't look as new and high class as his own. Not that there was anything wrong with Naruto being average or anything, it was just something he tended to notice.

"Mom, dad, this is Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke turned towards the man and woman in the living room when he heard Naruto speak, once again startled by the insane similarities between Naruto and his father. It was hard to believe his mother was related to him at all, considering her red hair and grey eyes.

"Sasuke! Oh your mother's told us so much about you!" The raven was shocked when the redheaded woman practically bounded over to him and hugged him, kissing one of his cheeks as if he were an old friend's son she hadn't seen for years. "Look at you, you're so handsome!" She held his face between her hands, grinning broadly. "Oh, your mother's said such wonderful things about you!" She hugged him again.

"Honey, give the kid some room to breathe," Mr. Uzumaki said with a smile, moving forward and putting his hand against his wife's lower back. "It's nice to meet you, Sasuke. My name is Minato, feel free to call me by that name. This is my wife, Kushina."

He managed to get her to let Sasuke go, and the raven straightened his collar, clearing his throat. Glancing over at Naruto briefly, he saw the blond trying to stifle his laughter. It suddenly became very clear that Kushina and Naruto were related.

He'd inherited his father's looks, but clearly shared his mother's personality.

"Thank you so much for coming over, Sasuke." Kushina motioned the dining room. "I don't want to keep you, so let's get right to dinner."

"Thank you for the invitation, I appreciate it very much."

"You're welcome, Naruto practically _begged_ us to have you over."

The raven was just about to sit down, but those words made him freeze. His eyes travelled upwards to look at the blond, who was already sitting down, smirking into his plate.

"Is something wrong?" Minato asked, seeming to be slightly concerned.

"No, nothing." Sasuke forced a smile, sitting down all the way and glaring across the table at Naruto. "Nothing at all."

He was playing with him. The blond son of a bitch was playing with him. He shovelled his walk, he invited him over for dinner—what was his problem?! He was just making fun of him, now, and Sasuke didn't like that! The second this dinner was over, he was going home and never looking out his window at the idiot ever again!

"I apologize if you find the meal somewhat mundane, Sasuke, but I asked your mother what you liked and she said spaghetti so that's what we're having," Minato informed him, motioning the noodles and sauce already on the table.

"It's fine, thank you. I appreciate the thought."

"So where do you go to school, Sasuke?" Kushina asked, helping herself to some salad, Minato pushing the noodles towards the Uchiha so he could serve himself first.

"I'm in my third year at Toronto University."

"Oh, that's exciting." Kushina passed the salad along to Naruto, almost hitting him in the face with bowl, as her eyes were still on Sasuke. "Studying what?"

Sasuke found he liked Kushina. She was a little eccentric, and definitely hyper, but she was nice, and sort of reminded him of his own mother. And since Naruto wasn't even talking, it was easy for him to have a decent conversation with his parents, pretending the idiot wasn't even there.

"I'm an English major. I was thinking of teaching in the future. If not, I was going to pursue some form of career in writing."

"You a writer, Sasuke?" Minato asked, seeming to be genuinely interested.

"Not really, but I enjoy a lot of written works." He smiled slightly. "I was thinking about writing analyses and dissertations based on the more famous books of our time."

"That sounds so smart," Kushina said with awe. "Your mother must be proud."

"I hear you have your own reasons to be proud." His smile was more forced here. After all, ignoring Naruto's presence would just mean he had no manners, and he wasn't going to let his mother down. "I hear Naruto is a proud student of McGill University."

"Yeah, he is." Kushina reached over to smooth back her son's hair. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow when he noticed Naruto grin at her.

If his mother had done that to him, especially with company present, he would have had a hard time looking even remotely pleased.

"What do you study over there?" Sasuke inquired, taking a bite of his food.

"Psychology."

The raven almost choked. It would certainly explain why he was getting under his skin so much, and now he was kind of annoyed. Naruto had psychology to go on, Sasuke had what? Sharp language?

And it was working so well.

"Impressive." Sasuke actually had the decency to look at Naruto for once.

"I know." Naruto grinned, taking a sip of his water. "Not bad for a dumbass."

"Naruto!" His mother hit him in the arm, laughing slightly. "Language."

"Sorry. I've kind of gotten attached to that nickname."

The raven stared at Naruto, the blond grinning at him for a few seconds longer, and then looking down at his plate to take another bite. Sasuke kept his eyes on him, wondering if he was imagining things.

_Is he flirting with me? There's no way. This guy is nuts..._

It didn't stop dinner from being any more awkward after that. Every time Sasuke asked a question, Naruto was grinning at him, as if having read his mind. As if he knew what Sasuke was thinking, and was trying to make him feel even more uncomfortable.

By the time dessert arrived, Sasuke was ready to high-tail it out of there, but somehow managed to make it through cake and coffee before standing. The Uzumaki family stood, as well.

"Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Uzumaki. It was delicious."

"You're welcome, but I can't take credit." The redheaded woman grabbed her husband's arm, hugging him slightly to herself. "Minato makes all the food, I just eat it."

"Indeed," the older man laughed. "My son seems to have inherited his mother's appetite."

"Only because your cooking is so good." The blond grinned, hands shoved into his pockets, and his eyes still on Sasuke. The raven shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, either way, thank you very much for the evening, I enjoyed myself."

"You're welcome back any time, Sasuke. It was our pleasure." Minato smiled. "There are never any others Naruto's age around here during Christmas. He likes interaction, we know it's hard for him."

"Eh, you know I love spending time with you guys." Naruto slapped his father on the back. "Come on, I'll walk you out, princess."

Nodding, because it was the only thing he could do, he thanked Naruto's parents again, and headed for the door, the blond trailing along behind him. When they were out of earshot, he turned to glare at him.

"I can find my own way out, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but you _are_ kind of handicapped. I wasn't sure if you'd know how to open a door by yourself."

Glaring over his shoulder just when they reached the door, Sasuke yanked it open. "Good night."

"Oh, speaking of which, I'm impressed. You really _do_ have manners."

Scoffing, Sasuke walked out and slammed the door behind himself.

Naruto was infuriating.

* * *

Sasuke was having an amazing dream, one he was enjoying so much he never wanted to be woken up from it, even if he would never willingly admit it to himself. Naruto was shovelling his driveway, but he was shirtless, and it wasn't snow he was shovelling, it was whipped cream. Every now and then, the blond would stop and take a handful of it, licking it off his fingers while staring up sensually at Sasuke's window.

It was during that time that he felt someone shaking him. Based on the firm, yet gentle shakes, he could conclude that it was his father. His brother was much more violent, and his mother was so gentle Sasuke almost didn't wake up.

"Sasuke."

"If the words 'shovel' and 'snow' come out of your mouth, I'm going to pretend I'm dead," Sasuke informed him sleepily.

He heard a sigh, and his father's footsteps retreating towards his doorway, but he knew this conversation wasn't over.

"Itachi had to go back to Toronto for a couple of days. There was a problem with one of his students. Apparently their professor failed them for something Itachi had advised them to do, so he went back to sort things out. He should be back by tomorrow."

"Lucky him, why didn't you send me home, too?" Sasuke mumbled sleepily into his pillow.

"Stop complaining and get up. The driveway needs shovelling."

"Does it snow here every day or something?" the raven grunted angrily, rolling over so he could start waking up more.

"Something like that. Hurry up, your mother has a hair appointment at one."

His door shut, and he knew his father had left. Rubbing his eyes with both hands, he turned to look at his clock, noting it was almost noon. He had time.

Then again, Naruto probably wasn't going to help him this time around so he would have to actually get his ass up and shovel snow. So, grunting and cursing internally—only because he was too tired to bitch out loud—he got up and made his way towards his bathroom. Glancing out the window, he saw that Naruto's driveway was cleared of snow, of course.

It was like the guy enjoyed doing it.

"If he likes it so much, he should've cleared mine."

He knew why the other hadn't, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Especially since Naruto had done so well clearing his walk for him the day before.

At least he felt Naruto was justified in not having cleared it this time. And his brother had a valid excuse, so he was going to tough it out and shovel it himself like a big boy. _I'll show that psychological anomaly that I can shovel snow too!_

Sasuke couldn't help but let Naruto get under his skin, and it was annoying, to say the least. If it were up to him, Naruto wouldn't exist in his life at all.

He got his morning toiletries done, and went back into his room to change, pulling on a pair of pants and then a heavy, long-sleeved shirt. He turned to grab some socks, and glanced out his window again, pausing in his actions when his eyes met Naruto's window. The blond was working out again, shirtless. He was doing pull-ups, which suggested to Sasuke—provided he always kept to the same routine—he'd just finished with the punching bag.

The Uchiha decided to be a little smarter this time, and ducked down near his window, so that if Naruto looked at the raven's window, he wouldn't see him. In theory, anyway. Sasuke knew he should have just left to shovel the walk, but he dared anyone to walk away from a body like that. Especially seeing it for free.

A knock at his door forced him to jerk into an upright position and turn around. His mother poked her head in at him and smiled.

"I was just making sure you were up."

"I'm up," was his reply.

Mikoto stared at him uncertainly for a few seconds, seemingly confused. Sasuke figured she'd probably been expecting him to be annoyed—and he would have been, had he not had a nice, toned chest to stare at for the past... however long it had been.

"Honey, I'm sorry about all the shovelling, but unfortunately there's nothing I can do short of apologizing."

"It's all right, mum," Sasuke insisted, holding his socks tightly in both hands and walking past her, kissing her cheek. He needed to get outside, into the cold, before he had an unfortunate accident in front of his parents.

He was going to have to remember to lock his door next time Naruto was working out.

_Wait, so now I'm actually going to start rearranging my schedule around his workout sessions?_ Sasuke snorted, grabbing his jacket and yanking it on. _Not likely. I'm just sexually frustrated, is all. I'll get over it. _

Tying up his boots, he walked into the garage to grab the shovel, and then opened the large door, walking out into the snow-covered driveway. Letting out a sigh, he shifted his weight, put the shovel down, and tried to remember what he'd so embarrassingly learned the day before about the proper way to shovel snow. Digging his shovel against the ground and pushing, he got a large amount of snow onto it, and grunted, lifting the shovel and tossing the snow to the side of the driveway.

"Well, it's more effective, but it's going to kill my muscles," he muttered to himself.

Nonetheless, he continued to shovel that way, checking his watch every now and then to ensure he was making good time. He was half-done the shovelling when it hit twelve-fifteen, and he was somewhat shocked at how well he was doing for time. He supposed it made sense considering he was shovelling properly, and Naruto was a stupid genius, and knew how to shovel.

Grunting, he went back to work, clearing more and more of the driveway. He was almost done when he heard a door slam and looked back at his house. No one was there. He looked across the street and, of course, Naruto was walking towards him, wearing his usual light jacket, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

Sasuke was going to say something, and then decided against it. He just looked back down at the snow and continued shovelling. He could hear the blond moving closer, the snow crunching under his boots, and then finally stopped at the end of the driveway.

"I see me working out isn't the only thing you watch me do."

The Uchiha straightened, glaring at Naruto. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Laughing, the blond moved onto the driveway, leaving behind footsteps in the snow Sasuke hadn't yet cleared.

"You think ducking down at your window hides your duck-butt? I could see you looking out at me again." He grinned cockily. "Like what you see?"

"Hardly." The raven's hands clenched tightly around the handle of his shovel. "Are you over here for a reason, or are you just trying to annoy me?"

"You know, you don't have to be such an asshole all the time." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I was coming over to ask you if you wanted to hang out tonight."

"Hang out?" Sasuke threw a shovelful of snow onto the side of the driveway. "You say that as if we're actually friends."

"Well, I'm going out tonight. To a club. I was thinking maybe you'd wanna come with me or something." He shrugged. "I haven't seen you leave the house since you got here."

"What, you were watching _me_, then?" Sasuke smirked, now. He finally got the upper hand, for once.

"At least I admit it, unlike you."

And his upper hand went down the drain. How was it Naruto could be so calm and collected about everything, regardless of what it was? It was kind of infuriating.

"Fine. So I was watching you. So what?" Sasuke ignored the burning he could feel beginning in his cheeks.

"So nothing. Want to go clubbing tonight, or not?"

The first thing Sasuke thought to say was "no way!" but when he looked back at his house, and thought of how bored he'd been lately, he felt maybe going out at least once—even if it _was_ with a dumbass like Naruto—he might actually entertain himself for once.

"What time?" he asked, somewhat disgruntled.

Naruto positively beamed at him. "I'll come get you at nine." He turned and headed back to his house, then stopped in the middle of the road and looked back at Sasuke. "Oh and, uh, wear something nice."

* * *

"You won't be out too late, will you?" Mikoto looked really nervous, following Sasuke around his room with her eyes.

"I'll be fine, please don't worry so much." He grabbed up his clothes from earlier in the day and threw them into his hamper, then turned to look at her. "Besides, I'll be with someone older than me who can definitely take care of himself. If anything happens, I'm sure he'll have my back."

"You think something will happen?!" Mikoto moved further into the room, wringing her hands together.

"No, I didn't..." Sasuke sighed. "Mum, I'll be fine, all right? It's not like I've never gone out before."

"But that was in Toronto!" she insisted.

"Where it's twice as dangerous as this place." He moved towards the door. "I'll be fine, don't worry so much."

"Okay," she whispered, then reached forward to take his face between her hands and kiss his cheek. He tried not to sigh or make a face, somewhat learning from Naruto's example.

The doorbell rang just then, so smiling slightly at his mother, he nodded goodbye to his father, who was standing in the corridor, and headed down the stairs. He was going to just let Naruto wait outside, but he could sense his mother following so he detoured to the door and pulled it open.

"Ready to go?" Naruto beamed at him.

"Sec," was all Sasuke said, turning around to grab his jacket and shoes, his mother taking his place at the door.

"Hello, Naruto!"

"Good evening, Mrs. Uchiha. How are you tonight?"

"Oh, fine, thank you." Mikoto smiled warmly, one hand against her stomach, something Sasuke knew she always did when she was worried. "Um, this place you're taking my son, it's safe?"

"Mum," the raven mumbled, feeling his cheeks growing warm again. He didn't want Naruto to think he was a mama's boy or anything, even though the blond appeared to be one.

"Oh yeah, don't worry." Naruto's smile was making warmth flood throughout Sasuke's body, and he could only imagine what it must be doing to his mother. He growled under his breath and hurried to get his shoes on.

"What time do you anticipate you'll be returning?"

"Whenever Sasuke gets bored, I suppose."

_Which won't take long,_ the raven thought bitterly, moving past Mikoto and muttering goodbye, pulling at Naruto to make him stop hitting on his damn mother.

"It was nice talking to you, Mrs. Uchiha," Naruto called, the door slamming a second later.

"Stop being such a hornball." Sasuke headed towards the road, Naruto jogging slightly to catch up and walk beside him.

"What? I'm just being polite. You know, that thing you can manage with everyone _but_ me." Naruto rolled his eyes and walked up to his garage door, typing in the combination to open it. Flipping his car keys in his hand, he walked towards the driver's side of the car and got in.

Annoyed, Sasuke followed, getting in beside him and closing the door. He had to admit, the interior of the car looked pretty decent. He hadn't really paid attention to the exterior. He wasn't even sure what type of car it was.

"Whenever princess needs to get home, just let me know and we can bail." Naruto pulled out of the garage and turned onto the street.

"Whatever, dumbass."

"Careful, asshole. Remember who your ride home is."

* * *

The club was everything Sasuke loathed about crowded places. It reeked of smoke, and alcohol, and had the vaguest hint of vomit. Everywhere he looked, people were writhing against one another, and not in a sexy fashion. He was excited to get some alcohol into his system so that it would overpower the stench around him.

Pushing his way to the bar, he could feel Naruto keeping in-step behind him. A part of him wanted to lose the blond idiot, but at the same time, he didn't because as the other had said, he was his ride home. And he realized once they were in the loud, music-filled club that he didn't have his number, so if he lost him, he was screwed.

Getting to the bar, he yelled out an order, the man on the other side nodding and grabbing him his drink, taking his money before leaning forward to catch Naruto's order. The blond was leaning forward against Sasuke, but the Uchiha assumed it was because the club was so packed, which it was.

When they both had drinks, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and pulled him towards the side of the club, where a few people were chatting in a corridor. Pushing through them and into another room, Sasuke cocked an eyebrow when he noticed all the lockers.

"Come on, let's put our coats and shit up." The blond hit Sasuke in the chest with the back of his hand and moved to the back of the room, opening one of the lockers and putting his drink on top of it. He held his hand out for Sasuke's, who handed it over as well.

Sasuke tried to avoid looking at him when the other took off his jacket, following suit with his eyes on the ground. He wasn't sure he liked that Naruto took off his coat, but he felt he should have assumed he would. It was hot in the club, and Sasuke himself had made sure to dress nicely because he was certain they'd remove their jackets.

Now that the time had come, though, he was wishing he hadn't agreed to come out. He wasn't eager to look at what Naruto was wearing, especially since the other knew he enjoyed staring at him shirtless.

"What is that?"

At these words, the Uchiha had no choice but to look up. His eyes flickered over Naruto briefly, trying to take in his outfit without staring, and he decided it was a pretty safe outfit. The other was wearing loose jeans with sneakers, and a tight black shirt that didn't leave much to the imagination with relation to his muscles. As much as it made him want to stare, the black made it so that when they got back into the darkness of the club, he wouldn't see much.

"What's what?" he demanded, getting back on track with the conversation, and managing to tear his eyes away from the other's toned chest.

"_That_!" He grabbed Sasuke's jacket and threw it into the locker before rounding on him, and grabbing his shoulders. "We're partying it up, Sasuke. Why are you dressed like a waiter?"

The raven bristled at that, his shoulders tensing slightly in anger. He knocked Naruto's hands away angrily, trying to ignore the flush he could feel rising at the back of his neck.

"What's that supposed to mean?! I can't just try and look good?!"

"Hey man, I meant no disrespect, but..." Naruto trailed off, motioning Sasuke. "You're wearing black slacks with a belt, and a tucked-in white button-down shirt. All you're missing is a bow-tie and people would laugh you out of the place."

Sasuke didn't go out much, but usually the places he frequented, what he was wearing was sort of casual in comparison. Looking at Naruto, and then at the other people milling about—none of whom were looking at him, thankfully—he suddenly understood why the blond had reacted that way.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" he demanded, crossing his arms self-consciously. "I can't just go home and change now."

"Don't worry, this is fixable."

Naruto took a step forward, reaching out to touch the raven, but Sasuke knocked his hand away, glaring. The Uzumaki glared right back.

"Do you want my help, or not?"

"I wouldn't be in this mess in the first place if it wasn't for you!" Sasuke hissed, looking around somewhat nervously, even though most people wouldn't notice he felt uncomfortable.

"Fine."

Naruto grabbed his drink, and pushed past him, starting to disappear back down the corridor. Sasuke's mind panicked, especially when he remembered—again—that Naruto was his ride home.

"Hey, wait!"

"Yes, princess?" Naruto turned to regard him, and Sasuke was hit with a spell of deja-vu. It wasn't the first time the blond had walked away from him, and turned back with those exact same words.

It was infuriating.

It was even more infuriating having to ask for his help.

"Fine, fix me," he muttered, crossing his arms again.

"Don't smack me again, or I'll just leave you here," Naruto warned, putting his drink down once more and moving forward.

Sasuke let the other approach him, tanned hands moving to untuck the raven's shirt from his pants. He pulled at the Uchiha's left arm, making him uncross them, and then unbuttoned his cuffs, rolling the sleeves up so that they hung more loosely down his arms.

"You wearing an undershirt?"

"No," Sasuke replied, cocking an eyebrow.

"Hm, oh well."

Sasuke tensed, but didn't say anything when the blond started unbuttoning his shirt. He'd figured Naruto wanted him to show a bit of skin, but soon the hands were moving lower, and lower, until all the buttons were undone and Sasuke was just standing in front of him with rolled up sleeves and an open shirt.

"This looks great," he drawled, annoyed.

"Well, if you stand like that, of course you look like a dumbass!" Naruto rolled his eyes and grabbed Sasuke's shoulders. "Loosen up a little." He shook him. "Like... You're so tense. This is a club. Relax."

He grabbed Sasuke's wrists and made him flail his arms a little, the raven's left eyebrow twitching in anger, but he said nothing. He could feel his shirt sliding off his right shoulder, the material trapped in the crease of his elbow.

"There, see? Now you look ready to party." Naruto grinned, then rubbed his own blond locks with both hands, making his hair stick up even more than it already had been. He slammed the locker shut and put the key in his pocket, then grabbed both their drinks and held Sasuke's out to him. "Shall we?"

The raven stared at it for a few seconds, and then couldn't suppress the smirk forming on his face. Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the drink and led the way back into the club.

Naruto's smile was infectious, apparently.

Getting out of the locker room, he felt somewhat claustrophobic. He'd briefly forgotten about how packed the club was, and he hesitated just beyond the threshold. Apparently, Naruto wasn't having any of that because the next thing Sasuke knew, he was being pushed forward onto the dance floor, and spun around.

The blond was standing in front of him, rocking his hips from side to side and bobbing his head in time to the techno music playing, taking a large swig of his drink. Sasuke followed suit, downing as much of his drink as he could before he had to stop for a breath. He was a good dancer, but alcohol was usually involved. The Uchiha couldn't relax enough without a few drinks in his system.

Naruto leaned closer to him, his lips brushing against his ear, shouting over the music to be heard. "Come on, Uchiha, I know you can do better than that!"

"I'm getting there, dumbass. Patience." He pulled away from Naruto, smirking, and took another large swallow of his drink.

He felt someone brush up against him from behind, but it was so slight he figured it was just someone trying to get through the bodies of people. Well, he did at first, until he saw red flash through Naruto's eyes, and the blond grabbed him by the arm, yanking him sideways so he could shove at the guy who'd started dancing behind Sasuke without the raven's knowledge.

"Beat it!" the blond snarled, his grip tightening on the Uchiha's upper arm.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, somewhat confused by the reaction, but not particularly caring, especially since he could feel the beginnings of heat rising in the pit of his stomach from the alcohol.

Looking around while swaying his hips, he couldn't help but notice there were an awful lot of guys in the bar, and the few girls who were present were dancing with each other, occasionally talking to a guy or two, but definitely not hitting on any of them.

It didn't take long for it to set in, and by then, Naruto had let him go and was dancing again. Sasuke grabbed _him_ this time, yanking him closer so he could yell in his ear.

"Did you bring me to a gay club?!"

"Your mum said you were gay, I thought I would indulge you."

Sasuke didn't know whether to be pissed right the fuck off, or to be embarrassed his mother had shared that with an almost complete stranger. He could feel heat rising to his cheeks again, though that might have just been the alcohol spreading.

"Calm down, it's not a big deal. If it's any consolation, I'm a batter."

That didn't make Sasuke feel better, because he had no fucking idea what that meant, and Naruto obviously noticed because he laughed and leaned closer to explain himself.

"I play both teams, Uchiha. I'm bi."

"Well good for you!" Sasuke turned, intent on heading back to the locker room to get his jacket and fucking walk home, but Naruto grabbed him around the waist, yanking him back and pulling him against his chest.

The Uchiha could feel heat radiating off the other in waves, his hot breath ghosting over his right ear and the side of his neck, as well as feel the other's muscles against his back. He let out a slow breath to calm himself down so he didn't get a boner in the middle of the fucking dance floor.

"I was just trying to make sure you had fun, would you stop acting like a prick for _two_ seconds," Naruto breathed into his ear, rocking his hips from side to side, and half-forcing Sasuke to go along with it. The raven wondered when the other had lost his drink, since he was no longer holding it, his hands splayed against the raven's stomach.

"You brought me to a gay bar," Sasuke hissed angrily, but made no attempts to move away. Naruto was really warm...

"Only because I knew based on your mother's information that bringing you to a normal bar wouldn't be fun for you. Girls would hit on you, and guys would either glare at you, or try and hit on you. I figured if we came here together, we'd at least be able to make enough of a show that people would leave you alone and we could just dance and have a good time."

Sasuke was starting to feel really hot, and he blamed it on the alcohol and the proximity of bodies, but he knew it was because of Naruto, even if he didn't want to admit it. As annoying as the idiot was, he was still nice, and polite, and had a body to die for. Sasuke would've loved to have that kind of build.

"Come on, have another drink, relax, and let's just have a good time."

The Uchiha let out a long sigh, thinking it over, and decided he would let Naruto have his damn fun this time. Only because he would be bored at home, though. Not because he wanted to make Naruto happy.

"Fine, but you're buying." He turned to smirk over his shoulder at the blond, who just grinned back.

"Sounds reasonable. Let's go."

Naruto's hand slid down Sasuke's arm to his hand, his thumb pressing against Sasuke's palm lightly before interlacing their fingers and dragging him towards the bar.

Sasuke tried to ignore how fast his heart had started beating.

* * *

The second Sasuke opened his eyes the following morning, it felt like someone had grabbed a knife and was stabbing him in the retinas. The sunlight burned and he clenched his eyes shut, rolling over and groaning loudly. His head hit something hard and a snore sounded throughout the room.

Sasuke frowned, feeling sure he hadn't opened his mouth, and when he heard the snore again, he stiffened. Slowly, he reached out with one hand and poked the hard thing his head was resting against. It grunted and moved.

The Uchiha leapt off the bed, horrified, and promptly fell over, his legs getting tangled in his computer cord and causing him to fall over. His head pounded like someone was taking a sledgehammer to his brain and he let out a groan, lying flat on his face on the floor.

He couldn't recall how much he'd had to drink the night before, but he knew for certain he'd never had as much as he'd had, because he'd never felt like shit this badly before. He could only remember bits and pieces of the night before, but another snore from the bed reminded him of why he'd fallen out of it in the first place and he rolled over just as his bedroom door opened.

"You're lucky I got home literally five seconds before you did, little brother."

He felt someone hoist him to his feet, and was dragged across the room and sat down in his desk chair. Itachi walked around the chair to crouch in front of him, reaching out and touching Sasuke's right eye lightly. The raven winced.

"Ow..."

"I'm not surprised. With the force you walked into the doorframe with, you're lucky your entire eye isn't sealed shut."

Sasuke's eyes flickered to the bed, and Itachi stood, following his gaze. Relief flooded him when he saw the shock of blond hair. That, and the black sleeve of a shirt. Sasuke himself was still wearing his own clothing, his shirt practically completely off by now.

That at least cleared two worries of his: who the person in his bed was, and whether or not they'd had drunken sex. Answers being Naruto, and no.

"The guy wouldn't let you go," Itachi informed him, turning back to look at his brother. "When I heard you yelling at the cab driver outside, I was glad I'd come home as late as I had."

Sasuke was glad to hear they'd taken a cab home, especially since one thing he clearly _did_ remember involved Naruto drinking as much as him.

"What happened?" His voice sounded rough, and it hurt to speak. Hurt to have his eyes open, too.

"I'm not sure, but you were yelling at the driver. I went out and apologized, paid him, and dragged you both out. I figured since you were in our driveway, I'd lie you down on the living room couch, take dumbass home, and come back to get you in bed, but when I got you inside, he wouldn't let you go. Said something about making you a promise not to leave you."

Sasuke felt weird butterflies in his stomach at those words, but he tried not to dwell on them too much. He just kept his eyes on the slumbering blond, who was now frowning and groping around himself for something.

"What happened then?" he asked Itachi without looking at him.

"I got you and him upstairs and into bed, then I went to his house and slid a note into the mailbox for his parents. It was late, I didn't want to wake them. They came by this morning to collect him, but when they tried to get him out of the bed, you wouldn't let go of his shirt, so they figured they'd let you both sleep and wait until you both woke up."

He felt heat rising to his face again, but just grunted in response and stood unsteadily, feeling like his head was about to explode. Heading for the bathroom, he shut the door and slowly got onto his knees, lying down with his face pressed against the cold tile of the floor. Goose bumps rose along his arms and the back of his neck due to the cold against his exposed chest, but he ignored it. The cold against his temple was helping with the headache.

Sasuke tried his best to recall as much as he could about the night before, but it was hard with his pounding headache. He remembered them at the club, and the drinking, and the dancing.

Man, did he ever remember the dancing.

Naruto was behind him the whole night, with his hands practically in the front of Sasuke's pants. He felt his face growing warm just thinking about it, but forced himself to fast-forward a bit. He could remember the dancing, and the touching. He thought he remembered some kissing, too, which didn't surprise him considering the hands in the pants.

Looking back on the night, he really _did_ have fun. And even though he'd been drunk, he and Naruto had still had some interesting conversations in between their dancing breaks. He found out a lot about the blond idiot in the other room, and felt somewhat uneasy about how much information he'd divulged, as well.

One thing was certain, though: after last night, there was no way he or Naruto could keep up any pretenses of hatred. Drunk or not, there was definite chemistry, and even if Sasuke tried to go back to being a jerk to him, Naruto wouldn't take it lying down.

Especially after that conversation Itachi had heard the promise of...

"Fuck..." Sasuke whined.

The proof of the severity of the evening was the fact that the Uchiha had just _whined_. Uchihas didn't whine except during times of extreme duress. That conversation was such a time.

He'd admitted to Naruto about how insecure he was, and how a lot of people tended to use him for his looks or his money, and how hard of a time he'd had keeping a boyfriend. Naruto had promised him that no matter what happened, he would never leave Sasuke, which was big words coming from someone he'd been a jerk to and had only known for three days.

But again, chemistry. Even now, Sasuke tried to deny it, but that first day had been... well, weird. He wasn't usually _that_ much of an asshole.

The bathroom door opened and Sasuke glanced up with his eyes, still lying on the floor with his face pressed against the tile. He heard a groan, and then Naruto's face appeared right beside his own, the blond's eyes closed as he mimicked Sasuke, pressing his forehead against the floor and letting out a sigh.

"You read my mind," the blond said, his voice just as rough and scratchy as Sasuke's.

"Cold floor feels nice," Sasuke agreed.

They both lay on the floor in silence, Sasuke hearing Itachi come into the doorway for a few seconds and then walk away. His bedroom door shut, and he winced, the sound echoing loudly in his head despite his brother having shut it quietly.

"What time did we get back at, anyway?"

"I don't know, four? Maybe five? Late." Naruto let out a sigh, frowning slightly. "My car and our coats are still at the club."

"We can get them later," Sasuke insisted, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth. He felt like he was going to puke, but refused to do so in front of Naruto.

"Did you have fun?"

Sasuke hesitated before answering, wondering if he should lie, but he'd just decided it would be pointless. Besides, why lie? If he said he hadn't, then Naruto probably wouldn't come around anymore.

"Yeah."

"How much do you remember?"

Sasuke opened his eyes and saw Naruto's blue eyes locked on his own. He made him feel uneasy again, but he tried to act like it wasn't a big deal, closing his eyes again.

"A lot."

"How much is a lot?"

"Enough."

They lay in silence for a bit, Sasuke focussing on keeping his breathing slow and even, even as his head pounded furiously despite the cold floor. He felt something brush some hair away from his face and opened his eyes, seeing Naruto watching his own hand as it worked on moving the raven's hair back.

"It's not because of how you look, you know," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach at that statement and shifted, turning his head the other way so he wasn't looking at Naruto anymore.

"Forget it," Sasuke insisted.

"I'm not going to forget it because I know you're going to be thinking that this entire vacation. After three days, we were already making out in a club. I just thought you should know it's not about your looks or your money. You're just... you have a weird aura."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow and snorted. "Aura?"

"It's hard to explain. Not that I believe in all that aura shit, it's just... I was watching TV in the living room that first day, and something just—compelled me to go outside. So I did, and I saw you. You were... the most entertaining person I had ever seen, and from far away, I couldn't even see your face that well, especially when you were looking down." He could tell Naruto sounded somewhat amused recalling that first day. "I don't know, I guess you were just interesting."

There was silence once more, Naruto's hand having moved to play with the hair at the back of Sasuke's head since he could no longer reach the front. Letting out a sigh, Sasuke turned to face him away, Naruto retreating his hand slowly.

"It wasn't about how you look, either," Sasuke muttered, and then forced a smirk, "though it's a bonus."

Naruto let out a short laugh, and then winced. "Ow."

Sasuke smiled, but made sure not to laugh, lest he share Naruto's current pain. They stared at one another for a while longer, the blond's hand having moved to Sasuke's, drawing circles on his smooth skin with his thumb.

"So what do we do now?" Sasuke sighed.

"Well, why don't we just see where this week takes us?" Naruto grinned. "If things work out in our favour, well... Montreal and Toronto aren't that far apart."

Snorting again, Sasuke kicked him lightly. "Hornball."

The bedroom door opened again, the two boys wincing, and Itachi appeared in the bathroom doorway again.

"Just so you both know, this isn't me being heartless, regardless of how much I find my brother suffering entertaining. This is what our parents decided to punish you with due to your overindulgence last night."

"Don't say it," Sasuke almost whined, but managed to keep that particular tone out of his voice.

"Driveways need shovelling, boys. I suggest you get to it."

And he was gone again, Sasuke and Naruto barely hearing both of their parents talking downstairs before the bedroom door was closed again, and they were bathed in silence.

"I'll help you if you help me," Naruto mumbled.

Sighing, Sasuke closed his eyes again. "Fine, but we're doing my driveway first."

Naruto snorted. "Yes, princess."

"Stop calling me that, dumbass."

* * *

**One more part I have squirreled away. I'll post it tomorrow if I can move. **


	3. The Mutt

**A.N: Thanks for the well wishes guys. Still not 100 percent but working on it. **

**AN2: (Edit) Due to the FF smackdown, I've edited all lemony chapters to be less detailed so if they seem kinda disjointed, that's why. If you want the original versions, they're posted on Ygal. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine.**

**Warnings: If you don't like men touching each other's goodies, turn back now.**

* * *

There was a loud knock at the bathroom door, pain stabbing through Sasuke's brain before he grunted that it was open. He didn't need to sit up or turn around to know that it was his brother, come to torture him some more.

After the snow-shovelling, which had taken twice as long as his first day, despite both he and Naruto working on both walks, he'd returned to the solitude and coldness of his bathroom floor. He wasn't sure how many hours had passed, but the more time he spent with his head against the tile, moving around the bathroom to find a new spot when the old one got too warm, the better he felt.

He peeked open an eye to look at Itachi, the older man crouching down in front of him, without even the slightest hint of sympathy. Sasuke reminded himself to laugh uncontrollably the next time Itachi had a hangover.

"You're somewhat pathetic, little brother."

"Fuck off," Sasuke grunted, turning his face away from Itachi, and feeling like he might need to move again. The ground was getting warm.

"You know, your boyfriend's been working out for the past two hours. Apparently _he_ can get over a simple hangover without any problems." There was a hint of amusement in Itachi's voice.

"He's not my boyfriend," Sasuke snapped, feeling somewhat angry that Naruto had gotten over this so fast. And here he was finding solace in the fact that they were both suffering.

"Oh really? Could have fooled me." Itachi stood and began to pace the large bathroom. Sasuke could only assume he was bored, otherwise he'd be off harassing someone else.

At least he had the decency to be quiet, and every step he took only caused a dull ache in the back of Sasuke's brain. A part of him wanted to submerge himself in a tub of cold water, but he didn't think that would work too well for him. He would definitely be too fucking cold. He might even freeze to death.

_Death probably feels better than this,_ he thought, annoyed. Who invented hangovers, anyway? Couldn't there just be one thing in life that didn't have consequences?

"He keeps looking over here, you know," Itachi said conversationally, finally taking a seat on the edge of the bath. "Your boyfriend."

"He's _not_ my boyfriend!" _Where_ Itachi got ridiculous ideas like that, he had _no_ idea.

So he and Naruto had hit it off. So they'd gone clubbing and made out and some touching was involved. So they'd slept together in the same bed the entire night.

_So what?_

"You should make an appearance. Either he's worried about you, or you're hurting his ego by not watching him work out."

Sasuke frowned, somewhat uneasy. He'd suspected his brother knew he watched Naruto work out, but the sudden realization that during his brief absence in his room, Itachi might have been watching Naruto, he was overcome with a sense of jealousy.

It wasn't fair that Itachi got to look at what he'd worked so hard to—well, _look_ at. Though, he hadn't worked hard, per se, he'd just... He'd made himself interesting enough to gain Naruto's favour! That counted, didn't it? And besides, Itachi got _everything_. For once, _Sasuke_ wanted to get something. Was that too much to ask?

Of course not. Sasuke was a reasonable guy. If that meant locking Naruto away in a closet for the rest of the holidays, he could pull that off.

Especially considering he'd only been there for four days, now. Christmas was still so fucking far, and he somewhat resented his mother for making him come out as soon as his exams were over. December fourteenth. He still had a long way to go.

"You should eat something."

"No," Sasuke mumbled.

"At least some toast."

"No."

"Stop being a child," Itachi snapped, sounding annoyed, now. If Sasuke didn't know better, he would think his brother was concerned. "I'll go grab you some toast and Gatorade. And take a shower, you stink."

His brother padded back across the bathroom, and Sasuke groaned in half-pain, half-anger when the older Uchiha slammed the door. He'd definitely done that on purpose. Sasuke was _so_ not cutting him any slack the next time he was hung over. With any luck, one of his retarded buddies would come down and they would all go out and get drunk and Sasuke would take up drumming.

Grunting and rolling over, he inhaled deeply, and then sighed. He really _did_ smell rather disgusting, and his stomach ached from both the need to vomit an the desire for food. Letting out another sigh, he forced himself to his feet, hoping he wouldn't empty his stomach's contents all over the floor, and stripped off his button-down shirt, which had been mostly off the entire day to begin with.

Yanking off his belt, and then pulling his pants off, he stepped into the shower, cranked up the hot water, and blasted it through the showerhead. His skin turned pink almost immediately, and the water pressure was doing nothing for his headache, but the warmth made him feel cleaner. Bowing his head, he allowed the water to roll off him, not even making an attempt to clean himself properly.

He heard his bathroom door open again, and the shower curtains were pulled back before a facecloth was thrown against the back of his neck. He could tell by the violence that it was his brother. He supposed he had to think Itachi cared just a _little_, or else he wouldn't be bothering to harass him into eating and showering.

Well, the showering might have been selfish, considering Sasuke _did_ smell bad.

"I'm not coming in there to clean you, little brother. If you don't get cleaned up, I'll take pictures of you and post them on your school website. I know a lot of girls who'd pay good money for the originals."

"Fuck you, Itachi."

"No thanks. Especially not the way you smell."

"Gross!" Sasuke grabbed the facecloth and threw it right back at Itachi, water dribbling into his eyes and causing him to miss.

Itachi certainly didn't when he threw it back, hitting Sasuke square in the face.

Cursing colourfully while the older Uchiha left the room, the raven grabbed the soap and started scrubbing at his already pink skin, turning it an angry shade of red. Then he shampooed his hair and stood under the water until all the suds had washed away.

Generally, after nights like the previous one, he would start jerking off in the shower, reminiscing everything that had happened, but somehow, it felt weird thinking of Naruto that way. Just because they'd made out and the blond had enjoyed the feel of Sasuke's nether regions didn't mean the raven felt comfortable jerking off to thoughts of the other.

After what felt like long enough under the spray, his hands having been clenched against the tile wall to stop them from wandering to places they ought not to go, he turned off the water and grabbed his towel. When he stepped out of the shower, there was a plate with toast and a bottle of Gatorade on the counter. Sighing, he moved towards them and took a bite of the plain pastry, wincing as he chewed it.

Drying himself off while pausing every now and then to take a bite of toast or a sip of orange liquid, he finally moved into his room to grab clothes, glancing out the window to see what Naruto was doing.

It looked like he'd just showered, as well, his normally spiky hair flattened against his head. He had his back to Sasuke's room, appearing to be doing something on his computer. Sasuke turned back to his dresser to grab clothes.

It was while he was pulling on his pants that he heard it. A loud squealing noise, like an agonized cry of rubber against asphalt, was coming down the road, and getting louder and louder. The roar of an engine practically shook the house; that or it was the bass of the music exploding out of the speakers.

Not finding this to be conducive to ridding him of his headache, he stomped to the window and glared out of it. He could see a silver Porsche with the roof pulled down racing down the street. The music blaring from the speakers was so loud Sasuke couldn't even tell what it was, and it made him wonder how the person in the car wasn't deaf.

He was about to turn away when the car screeched to a halt, the driver hitting the brakes, and then slid with the momentum into the Uzumaki driveway. Abruptly, the engine and music cut off, and a guy no older than Sasuke jumped out of the car, not even bothering to open his door.

Naruto's front door opened, and even though he couldn't hear what was going on, he could tell the blond had just screamed the guy's name, his arms outstretched in greeting.

An angry frown marred Sasuke's features when the brunet raced across the driveway and jumped into Naruto's arms, hugging him tightly with his legs wrapped around the blond's waist. Naruto stumbled, but even from here Sasuke could tell he was amused.

The brunet held onto his friend much longer than the Uchiha would have liked, but eventually he was back on the ground, and the two of them were talking. Every now and then, Naruto would glance up at Sasuke's window, but the raven knew he couldn't see him. It was starting to get dark, and Sasuke's light wasn't on. All Naruto could see was the sun reflecting off the glass.

The two continued to speak for a while, the blond continuing to motion into the house, but the brunet didn't seem interested in going inside. He eventually turned around to see where Naruto kept looking, and Sasuke got a clear look at his face—or, as clear as he could given the distance and diminishing amount of light.

He was attractive enough, Sasuke supposed. He had the same dark skin as Naruto, though possibly a shade or two darker. His brown hair was as messy and unruly as Naruto's, but slightly longer, and on his face, the idiot had tattooed two red fangs so that he looked like a permanent child with fingerpaint on his face.

Sasuke instantly didn't like him, and he tried to convince himself it was because the other had worsened his headache. Another more honest—and more quiet—part of himself was throwing a fit that he'd spent so long talking to Naruto, and had _jumped_ on him!

If Sasuke knew what jealousy was, he might have been feeling it just then. But of course, he wasn't jealous. What was there to be jealous about?

His eyes narrowed further when the brunet idiot laughed and trapped Naruto in a headlock, rubbing his knuckles against the blond's head. Apparently, the other wasn't going to take that lying down, because he tackled his friend to the best of his ability, and the two of them flew off the porch, landing in a pile of snow that had grown when he and Naruto had shovelled the drive.

The two wrestled for a while in the snow until the blond finally got the upper hand, straddling his friend's hips and pinning his arms above his head, the two of them laughing.

Sasuke had seen enough. He turned back to his dresser and slammed the drawer that had been open shut. He yanked another one open so hard it flew right out of the commode and clattered to the ground. He just kicked it angrily, picked up a pair of socks, then stomped over to his bed to lie down.

When Itachi knocked on his door a few minutes later, Sasuke realized he'd fallen asleep. He was called out to dinner, so he stood and trudged towards the door, tripping on the drawer he'd forgotten to pick up. He grunted and grabbed it, putting it back where it belonged and throwing his socks into it half-heartedly, glancing out the window.

He frowned when he saw the car gone, feeling sure he would have woken up when the other departed given his music and his engine. When his eyes shot up to Naruto, the blond was sitting at his computer desk still, his hair slightly dryer, and his clothing devoid of any snow or dampness from it.

Sasuke was distracted, watching Naruto, and the blond's door suddenly opened, his mother appearing. He could only assume the other had been summoned to dinner, as well. Nodding, the blond stood, and then turned around, his eyes flickering up to see if Sasuke was there.

Moving to his desk, the raven turned on his light, seeing Naruto grin and wave at him. Snorting, the raven waved back, and watched as the blond turned to exit his room. He could've sworn he looked somewhat worried the second he'd started turning away, and it got him curious, but he ignored it.

Heading downstairs, he sat down at the table and helped himself to some rice and beef stew, his parents and brother already halfway through their meal.

"Did anyone else hear that car that came by earlier?" he inquired without so much as a hello.

"Damn kid almost broke all the windows in the house," Fugaku muttered angrily, stabbing into his stew much harder than usual. "I was glad when he passed through."

"He passed through?" Sasuke frowned.

"Sounded like it. Didn't bother checking."

Frowning, Sasuke looked back down into his plate, playing with his food slightly, and remembering the way Naruto had looked like he hadn't moved.

Had he imagined everything? Was he so possessive of the guy he'd just met that he was making up stories in his own head.

_Damn fucking snow,_ Sasuke stabbed at a piece of beef.

* * *

Throughout the night, Sasuke had been debating going over to Naruto's place to talk or something, but every time he decided to, he got sidetracked on his way to the door, and had to work up the nerve all over again to the point where he just stopped bothering, fell down on the living room couch, and continued reading his book.

It was almost ten in the evening when a knock sounded, Sasuke looking up. He glanced at the door, but it hadn't come from that general vicinity. It sounded again, and he turned, jerking slightly in shock when a face was staring back at him from outside one of the windows.

A flash of brilliantly white teeth and a shock of blond hair easily informed him of who that person was, and he put his book down to trudge across the room. Opening the window, Naruto grinned and climbed into the house, Sasuke snorting.

"You know, normal people use doors."

"It's late, I didn't know if your parents would still be awake or not. Didn't wanna bother them."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke shut the window, Naruto jumping slightly on the spot. He wasn't wearing a jacket, as per usual, but just a light sweater, jeans, and sneakers. Sasuke tried to ignore the fact that the snow on his shoes was melting onto the carpet.

"And what would you have done if I was upstairs?" He couldn't help but smirk.

"Well, given you look out your window at me all the time, because I'm so damn sexy," Naruto grinned cockily, ignoring Sasuke's snort, and continued, "I figured you'd eventually look up and I could motion outside."

"True." Sasuke turned and sat back down on the couch. Naruto rubbed his hands together to warm them and took a seat next to him.

"I was thinking we could go catch a movie," he informed the raven.

"Now? Isn't it too late?"

"Hm, you're probably right..." Naruto frowned, obviously not having thought of that. "Well, you could always come over and watch it at my place."

"Honestly, my hangover days aren't good days for me to be around people. I'm an asshole."

Naruto stared at him in mock-shock, and Sasuke knew what was coming before the words left the blond's mouth, feeling heat rising to his cheeks.

"You? An asshole? No way! That's impossible!"

"Shut up," Sasuke snapped, picking up his book and continuing to read. He re-read the same sentence five times before giving up. "Who was that guy?"

"What guy?" Naruto frowned, but Sasuke thought he saw a brief hint of panic in his eyes before confusion clouded them.

"The idiot you were wrestling in the snow with."

"Who?" The blond's head cocked to one side. "I didn't step foot in the snow after my shower until I came over here." He frowned more. "Are you feeling okay? Maybe I let you drink a little _too_ much."

Pursing his lips together and looking back at his book, though not truly reading it, Sasuke thought back on what he'd seen. His father seemed to have thought that the car had simply passed by, and Naruto himself hadn't appeared to have moved from his spot at his computer. Maybe Sasuke _had_ overindulged a little too much. He was hallucinating, now. Fantastic.

"Never mind. Just... tired, I guess."

"Hm." Naruto just shrugged and made himself comfortable on the couch, staring at Sasuke.

The raven felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising, feeling uncomfortable again. Naruto was just _staring_ at him. At first he'd thought the other was reading his book along with him, but then realized he couldn't see the pages from that angle.

"Can I help you?" Sasuke finally sighed after ten minutes of trying to read the same page over and over.

"Nah, just looking."

"At what?"

"You."

Heat rose up the back of his neck again. "And why, pray tell, are you looking at me?"

"I can't look at you?" Naruto grinned. "You didn't have that problem last night."

"You are a seriously twisted individual, you know that?" Sasuke glared at the blond. Naruto just laughed.

"Why else would I be a psychology major?" He winked and then sat up straighter. "So if we don't movie it up tonight, how's tomorrow?"

Sasuke hesitated, not wanting things to get out of hand, but then figured, _why not?_ He was going to be here for almost a month, and it wasn't like he had anything better to do. He was interested in Naruto, and it was more than obvious the blond was interested in him. Why not have a winter fling and see where things took them?

If nothing else, at least he wouldn't be so damn sexually frustrated anymore. Besides, wasn't that what all the other rich kids did? Stole, did drugs and have sex? Not that he wanted to _be_ like all the other rich kids, but he wanted to have a rebellious streak, too.

Hell, even _Itachi_ did things he wouldn't dare speak to his parents about.

Eying Naruto briefly, he smirked slightly, then looked back at his book. "Okay."

"Okay?" The blond grinned. "You'll come?"

"Sure." Sasuke shrugged. "Might as well entertain myself somehow during this holiday."

"My thoughts exactly," Naruto said with a grin, standing. "Well, I'm gonna go work out some more." He looked at Sasuke expectantly.

The raven snorted instead of being embarrassed this time. He knew that was a clear invitation, and even though he was going to go watch the other work out _in his own time_, he wasn't going to run up like an obedient little puppy dog.

"Have fun."

"Oh, I will," Naruto grinned and moved back towards the window. He'd yanked it up before Sasuke could say anything.

"You can use the—" The blond was gone. "—door..."

Sighing, he stood and shut the window, and then _slowly_ made his way up the stairs to his room, book still in hand. He wasn't just going to sit there and _stare_ when he had a perfectly good book to read. No, he was just going to glance up every now and then and watch Naruto work out.

His bedroom light remained off the rest of the night, onyx eyes locked on sun-kissed skin until the other man went to bed, his book lying forgotten on his desk.

* * *

When he was shaken awake again the next morning, he just about threw a fit before he was even fully awake, yelling he wasn't shovelling any more damn snow, and almost attacking the person who'd woken him when his eyes fully opened and he saw that it was his mother.

He instantly calmed down, muttering an apology and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He could tell by the nervous fidgeting that regardless of the fact that it was her waking him up, he was going to have to shovel snow today. When he looked out the window, he could see it falling heavily, and wondered why they bothered clearing it at all since it kept coming back the next day. He was so fucking sick of snow!

"Your brother's made a proposition I know you'll accept," she whispered nervously. "He's agreed to do all the other chores, including laundry, and dishes, provided you clear the walk whenever it snows."

_Which is every day,_ the raven thought grumpily.

Testament to how much his brother loathed the snow, he was willing to do all the other chores in the house provided Sasuke did that one task, even though it wasn't guaranteed it would snow every day. Proof of how badly Itachi hated the white powder shit.

Well, it meant he only had to do one thing a day—even if it was something he loathed—he supposed he could deal with that. Grunting out a "fine" to his mother, he rolled over and covered his head with his blanket, feeling her pat it lightly and then leave.

He could only assume she needed to leave, otherwise she wouldn't have woken him, especially at ten in the morning the day after a hangover. So, with a sigh, he crawled out of bed and moved to his dresser to get dressed. Looking across the street, he could already see Naruto almost finished shovelling his own driveway.

Sasuke sort of felt bad for him. Considering all the things the blond always had to do, he never complained. Not once did Sasuke ever hear him complain about, well, anything. Except for how much of an asshole the Uchiha was, which didn't count, because realistically, he _was_ an asshole.

Heading downstairs, he grabbed a quick bite to eat and then got his jacket and boots on, exiting the house into the garage and hitting the garage door opener. When it lumbered upwards high enough for him to see the end of the driveway, he smirked and leaned against his shovel.

"You're not hired help, you know."

"Good morning, princess," Naruto grinned at him from the bottom of the driveway, having just started on clearing a row. "How are you?"

"Sober, and not hung over. I'd say it's an improvement." Sasuke walked out and started shovelling the snow closest to him. "I'm serious though, you know. Stop shovelling my driveway."

"Ah, I forgot. You dislike my pity-shovelling." Naruto snickered, but continued working. "I don't mind. I like snow, and it helps keep my muscles firm."

"Because your eighty-thousand pull ups a day don't do that," Sasuke grinned, tossing snow away.

"Well, I'm not going to work out today." The blond paused in his work, watching Sasuke. "I was thinking of just showering when I got inside, and then we could go catch that movie. Maybe grab lunch somewhere and hang at the arcade or something."

Sasuke paused as well, cocking an eyebrow at Naruto. "Arcade? How old are you again?"

"Hey, you are _never_ too old for shooter games!" Naruto pointed his finger at Sasuke, and grinned. "Or air hockey. I was born for air hockey."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke continued working, trying to hide his smirk. He didn't have a problem with arcades, he just found it odd someone like Naruto would still go to one. Then again, he supposed he shouldn't have been too surprised, considering the other was pretty childish for the most part. Moreso than him, almost. And that was saying something, considering how childish Sasuke had been of late.

"You in, then?"

"Yeah, I'm in." Sasuke smirked, looking over at Naruto. "Keep shovelling."

"Your wish is my command," Naruto teased.

They continued in silence after that, managing to clear the driveway relatively quickly, and then separating to go take their showers. Itachi was coming down the stairs, reading a book, when Sasuke entered. The raven glared at him, but Itachi just patted his head almost insultingly when he passed.

The younger Uchiha swatted at his hand, climbing the stairs and disappearing into his room. Groaning, he stripped off his clothing and stalked over to his bathroom, closing the door behind himself and turning on the water. As usual, he made it go as hot as he could bear it, and then stepped in.

He let the water cascade off his skin, sighing deeply. He took his time rubbing his skin, cleaning the sweat off with just the water, for now. When he grabbed the shampoo, he heard his bathroom door open and rolled his eyes.

"I'm a big boy, you know. You don't need to keep coming in here while I'm showering to check in on me."

Itachi didn't _always_ check in on him, but generally around hangover time, he tended to come in to make sure Sasuke wasn't drowning himself. Though today was a day later, so he didn't understand why he was there.

The curtains were pulled back just as Sasuke started shampooing his hair, and he turned to bitch at his brother. His words stuck in his throat and his shampoo-covered hands flew to his crotch, heat rising to his face.

"What the fuck?"

"You were taking too long," Naruto said with a smirk, removing his shirt. "And your mother told me to come right in."

"I think she meant the house, not my bathroom!" Sasuke's eyes unconsciously slid down to watch Naruto unbutton his pants. "And what the hell are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna help speed things up."

"You already showered!"

"Eh, what's another shower if it means being clean?"

Grinning from ear to ear like a Cheshire cat, the blond climbed into the shower and pulled the curtains shut.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. Any other person would have started sputtering, but Sasuke was an Uchiha. Uchihas didn't sputter. So he just stared at Naruto, trying to avoid looking down, feeling very uncomfortable. His self-consciousness was acting up, and the last thing he wanted was Naruto to see him without any clothing on.

"Stop being so ridiculous," Naruto laughed, pulling at Sasuke's hands. "You'd think you've never showered in a communal shower before." He paused. "Wait, you probably haven't..."

"Of course I haven't!" Sasuke snapped, yanking his hands away and turning around so his back was to Naruto. He did his best to pretend the blond wasn't there, grabbing more shampoo and rubbing it into his hair.

It became harder and harder to ignore the other's presence when Naruto started washing his back. Sasuke felt it wouldn't have been so sensual if he'd been using a damn facecloth, but the dumbass was using his fucking hands! Everywhere the other touched him, it felt like electricity was coursing under his skin, and it was pissing him off!

"Stop being so tense."

"Says the guy who climbed into _my_ shower while _I_ was in it! Why are you even in here? Why didn't you just wait in my room?"

There was silence for a few seconds wherein Sasuke washed the suds out of his hair and Naruto's hands stilled on his back.

"Are you embarrassed?"

"Of course not!" Sasuke snapped angrily, feeling heat rise up the back of his neck. He cursed internally when he realized Naruto was standing behind him and could therefore see it, though he hoped the hot water would make it easier to cover the blush.

Naruto grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, Sasuke looking anywhere but at him. The blond rubbed his arms slowly, grinning at him.

"Why are you so embarrassed? I have one too, you know."

The raven's eyes flickered downward and then back up, Naruto letting out a chuckle. One of the blond's hands trailed down his arm, caressing his stomach, and then moving down more. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and grabbed at Naruto's wrist.

"What are you doing?" he hissed, barely audible over the sound of water hitting skin and tile. The raven's eyes flickered towards the door. He never locked it, and he didn't hear Naruto lock it, either. "My family's home!"

"Then you better be quiet."

Grinning, and despite Sasuke ordering him to stop, he didn't. Sasuke hissed, his free hand grabbing at Naruto's shoulder and digging his nails into the other's skin. He let out a harsh breath, gritting his teeth.

"Relax," he whispered in Sasuke's ear, pressing him back against the wall. "You need to stop being so easily flustered. It's not like I haven't jerked off thinking about you in my shower."

"Moron!" Sasuke snapped, hitting him hard with his other hand, letting go of Naruto's wrist so he could move his hand more freely.

"You love me that way," Naruto bit sensually at Sasuke's ear, water cascading over them.

The Uchiha's breath came faster and faster, gripping at Naruto's back as best he could considering water was making it slippery. The blond's lips made their way across his neck, his collarbone, down his chest, and it didn't take a genius for him to know that the blond's lips were heading further down.

"Fuck," he hissed. One of Sasuke's hands grabbed at Naruto's hair, yanking on it almost as if to pull him away, but he didn't. His other hand slapped against the wall beside him, fingers spasming against the tile.

The raven's head fell back against the wall, his breathing loud and harsh. He let out another groan, hand tightening in the blond locks.

And then, his eyes snapped open and towards the bathroom door.

Someone had just knocked.

He tried to push the blond away, but Naruto didn't budge, looking up with mischievous eyes. Sasuke groaned again, bringing his hand away from the wall and stuffing it in his mouth to muffle his moans.

"Sasuke, honey?"

_Oh fuck, it's mum!_ Panic exploded up his spine, and he started pulling harder at the blond's hair, but still he didn't budge. Sasuke was biting his hand so hard the pain was overpowering the pleasure Naruto was currently giving him.

"Sasuke?" He heard the handle begin to turn and pulled his hand out of his mouth, slapping it against the wall again.

"Yeah mum?" he choked out, trying to sound normal. The handle stopped turning.

"Are you all right? You've been in there a long time."

"Nn I'm fine! Awesome! Thank you!" He forced out, punching the wall and tugging on Naruto's hair. "Fine!" he shouted, much louder than he meant to.

"Um, all right," his mother said uncertainly. "Naruto was here a minute ago, but I think he went home. Make sure you call him when you're out, all right?"

Sasuke doubled over, curling around Naruto's head and clawing at his back.

"Fuck!"

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" He heard the door open and tried to straighten, but couldn't. He could see her shadow coming closer and closer. If she pulled back the curtain, she was going to see them...

And Naruto really didn't seem concerned.

"Nothing, I'm fine! Fine! I'll call him, I swear!" His voice was rising in pitch in his panic. He'd never been this panicked in his entire life.

He looked down almost pleadingly at Naruto, but the blond didn't pay Sasuke's panic any mind. Looking up horrified, the raven watched his mother's hand near the curtain. He clenched his eyes shut.

"Mum." And Sasuke had never loved his brother so much in his life. "Dad wants you."

"Um, all right. Itachi check in on your brother, please." He could hear the concern in her voice when she started walking out of the bathroom. Sasuke figured she'd felt Itachi checking would be more appropriate since they were both guys.

He heard the bathroom door close, and then a snort, still trying to keep his moans as quiet as possible.

"Next time you two decide to have fun in the shower, have the brains to lock the door."

And the door opened and closed again, music blaring from Sasuke's room.

Finally, the raven let out a bit more of his voice, since no one could really hear him anymore.

"Nn ah, you bastard. Fuck, you—" His breath hitched, his fingers clenching in Naruto's hair. "I'll kill you. You're de—" He clung to Naruto more tightly, letting out a muffled cry.

His body shook, all of his muscles tensing, his breath caught in his lungs until he finally relaxed, spasming against Naruto and hating the dumbass more than he'd ever hated anyone in his life.

"That wasn't so bad, now, was it?" The blond grinned, getting back to his feet.

"I hate you," Sasuke breathed, sinking to the ground and sitting on the cold shower floor. "You have no idea how much I hate you."

"Don't be like that." Naruto grinned, crouching down in front of him. "It's more exciting with the risk of getting caught." He smacked Sasuke's thigh and then stood, climbing out of the shower. "Jesus, it's cold."

"Cold?" Sasuke frowned, lifting his head. He sat under the spray, and realized it was, indeed, cold. He wondered when it had gotten so cold, but figured he'd been far too pleasured and stressed about his mom catching him to even notice.

Nevertheless, he turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, feeling just as sweaty as he had when he'd entered, and grabbed his towel out of Naruto's hand. The blond had been using it to dry himself off. Glaring, he dried himself off, ignoring the snickering coming from the idiot behind him.

"You're such an asshole."

"I thought that was _your_ area of expertise," the blond said, sounding amused. Sasuke said nothing, continuing to dry off and disappearing into his room. He yanked on a pair of pants, and went to his closet to find a shirt, turning off his music when he passed his player.

Naruto appeared behind him, hugging him around the middle and kissing his neck. Sasuke just glared into his closet.

"Don't be mad. We didn't get caught. And you can't deny is was exciting."

"Are you always this quick to jump the gun?" Sasuke accused, turning to glare over his shoulder, now. Naruto just grinned.

"Only with people I feel chemistry with."

Rolling his eyes, he shrugged out of Naruto's arms and pulled on a shirt, turning around to grab socks. He caught sight of Naruto's face before the blond could turn it back into a cocky grin. The other was upset.

_Well, he should be! _Sasuke thought angrily. _He almost got me caught!_

But the truth was, they _hadn't _been caught. And now that his anger had been quelled somewhat, he had to admit, it _had_ been pretty thrilling. He'd reacted accurately, in his opinion, but he didn't like the look Naruto had had on his face when he'd turned around.

Sighing, he moved towards the blond and kissed him lightly on the lips, trapping the other's bottom one between his teeth. He tugged lightly, increasing the pressure before letting go, and smirking.

"Next time, we're doing it in _your_ house." He shoved the blond's face away playfully. "Let's go."

* * *

Nothing of consequence happened during the moving apart from Naruto constantly stealing Sasuke's popcorn, and almost getting his fingers broken off halfway through it. The lunch had gone pretty well, too, and by the time they reached the arcade, they were actually openly holding hands.

Sasuke had been hesitant at first, because even though people didn't care in Canada, he didn't know what it was like in England. But, Naruto wasn't too concerned, so he tried not to worry about it, either. He just followed along, finding it somewhat embarrassing he didn't know any of the places Naruto had brought him to so far, despite having been coming to England for years.

"You don't go out much, princess. We've already established that." Naruto grinned and pulled him into the arcade, the blond letting out a happy sigh. "God, games. I _love_ games." He clapped his hands together, grinning. "So, what do you want to play first?"

"Anything." Sasuke shrugged, hands in his pockets. "I don't mind."

"All right, then." Naruto grinned and motioned the air hockey table. "Shall we?"

"You don't know what kind of challenge you just agreed to." Sasuke smirked and moved to one side of the table, holding it for them while Naruto went to get tokens.

When he came back, the two of them played a few rounds, finding they were fairly evenly matched since it took them forever just to finish one game. Naruto won the first, and Sasuke the second. They stopped halfway through the third because others wanted to play and they'd hogged the table long enough.

Moving on to racing games, they played a few rounds of that, and then some first-person shooter games, which Naruto was annoyed to find Sasuke much better at.

"How come you can aim so well with a gun, but your equipment is another story?" Naruto whispered into Sasuke's ear, obviously hoping it would make him lose his cool. The Uchiha just smirked and killed the boss they were fighting, Naruto pouting slightly and continuing to play.

It was well past five in the afternoon by the time either of them checked their watches, and Naruto insisted it was time for them to go home. They both had to have dinner with their parents, he'd insisted, but Sasuke couldn't help feel they were rushing for another reason.

"What's the hurry?" he demanded, climbing into the blond's car and buckling himself in.

"No hurry, it's just meatloaf night. I don't wanna miss it," Naruto insisted, pulling out of the parking lot and making his way back towards their compound. "Don't you ever have those nights?"

"I guess." Sasuke shrugged. "So what are you doing afterwards? Wanna play some video games at my place?"

"Uh, the arcade sorta video gamed me out." Naruto glanced at him. "Sorry."

"That's cool." The raven stared out the window again. "Maybe a movie."

"Well, we already watched one..."

"Are you busy later or something?" The Uchiha turned back to him, eying him suspiciously.

"Me?" Naruto scoffed. "No. I just—should spend time with my family, is all. I mean, it's Christmas time, you know?"

"Sure."

But Sasuke wasn't convinced. He felt like something was up, but he tried not to dwell on it. He was sure Naruto must have a good reason to be so secretive, he just hoped it was nothing bad.

They arrived back at the compound, Naruto parking in his own driveway and climbing out, Sasuke doing the same.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." The blond was grinning again, going back to how he was mere minutes before. Sasuke snorted and started across the street, Naruto jogging to keep up with him. "Did you have fun?"

"Hn," was his reply, though Sasuke smirked.

"Me too." The blond put both hands behind his head, grinning, the two of them walking up the driveway. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Minus the morning events," Sasuke stopped on his porch and glared at him.

"Aw, you said we could at my house." Naruto waggled his eyebrows, and then leaned forward, kissing Sasuke's cheek. "See you tomorrow, princess."

"Fuck off, dumbass." Sasuke snorted and shoved Naruto, the blond stumbling down the porch steps, still grinning, and turning to run back across the street.

Shaking his head, Sasuke disappeared back into his house, closing the door behind himself.

* * *

Though he knew there was nothing to worry about with regard to Naruto, especially since they weren't dating or anything, he couldn't help but feel the other was keeping something from him. He didn't like it when people weren't wholly truthful with him, it came with his trust issues.

Naruto had seemed so anxious to get home when he'd discovered the time, even though they had plenty of time before dinner. He knew the Uzumakis ate around seven, and it wasn't like it would take them two hours to get home or anything.

When he finished dinner a few hours later, he tried his best to lie in bed and read his book without checking up on Naruto, but he couldn't resist glancing out the window every now and then. The blond's light was off, and he couldn't help but feel it was done on purpose. After all, Sasuke himself had done it on purpose once, as well.

Letting out an annoyed growl, he got up and turned off his own light, stomping across his room and sitting down at his desk. Glaring out the window, he kept his gaze fixed on the window across from his own, trying to catch any hints of movement. There wasn't any.

He knew Naruto wasn't with his parents, he could see them both in the kitchen, talking and laughing. It looked like Mr. Uzumaki was making a mess and Mrs. Uzumaki was pretending to scold him, since it was clear she wasn't truly mad.

Sasuke wasn't sure how long he was sitting there, but eventually, all the lights across the street had turned off, and he was left sitting alone in the dark, wondering what he was doing. He checked the time, noting it was almost eleven, and figured maybe Naruto had just felt sick or something, and had gone to bed early.

Standing to leave his seat, movement out of the corner of his eyes caught his attention, and he looked back over at Naruto's house. The blond had just exited the front door, glancing around nervously, as if he were about to rob a house.

He certainly wasn't dressed for a robbery, as far as Sasuke could see.

That was when he heard the engine. Glancing down the street, the same car he'd seen the day before was racing towards the Uzumaki household, the roof up this time. It slowed down when it neared Naruto's driveway and the blond bolted for it, jumping into the car while it was still moving, and slamming the door. Sasuke watched it screech away down the street.

Feeling his blood boiling with anger and jealousy, he turned away from the window, wondering if he'd have preferred not to see anything at all.

One thing was for sure: Naruto had lied, and he had a lot of explaining to do...

* * *

**Yay! Kiba!**


	4. The Club

**A.N: Well, I'm not dead. Yay me!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine.  
**

**

* * *

Six Hours Earlier.**

It took a horrendously large amount of self-restraint for Naruto not to check his watch every five seconds. He felt that would be rude, especially since he knew Sasuke was already sitting beside him getting all suspicious. But really, even if he _was_ going out later, what business was it of his?

Okay, he supposed given their—relationship, it made sense that Sasuke would wonder, but Naruto wasn't going to tell him. Not yet. It was a little too soon for that explosion...

He turned back into their compound, breathing a slow sigh of relief when he didn't find any foreign cars in his driveway, and pulled into it, parking on the asphalt instead of in the garage. Turning off the engine, he opened his door and climbed out, closing it behind himself and watching the raven do the same.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." He grinned at Sasuke, who just snorted at him and started across the street. Naruto jogged slightly to catch up with him, walking alongside him. "Did you have fun?"

"Hn," Sasuke replied, a smirk playing on his lips.

Naruto's grin widened, the blond putting both hands behind his head. "Me too."

They continued up the driveway, Sasuke starting up the porch steps. Naruto didn't bother to climb them.

"We'll have to do it again sometime," the blond said.

"Minus the morning events." The Uchiha stopped on his porch and turned to level him with a glare befitting Satan. It just made Naruto grin more.

"Aw, you said we could at my house." He waggled his eyebrows, and then took a step up to the porch, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on the other's pale cheek. "See you tomorrow, princess."

"Fuck off, dumbass."

When Sasuke gave him a small push off the porch, he went with it, turning around and sprinting back across the street. He took his own steps in one leap and slammed into his front door, getting it open instantly.

"Hi mom," he called, rushing past the kitchen towards the stairs.

"Hi honey!" she called back.

He took the stairs up to his room two at a time, hurrying down the corridor and past his father's study.

"Hi dad."

"Hey sport."

The blond disappeared into his room and slammed the door, looking around the room wildly. _Clothes, clothes... I need clothes..._ He ran to his closet and yanked it open, pulling shirts off the hangers and digging into the very back of his in-built shelving unit. He found a decently styled shirt and pulled it out, ripping off his current one and yanking the other one on in its place. Then he ran around his room trying to find the jeans he'd worn the other night when he'd taken Sasuke clubbing. He didn't see a sense in making two pairs of jeans smell like smoke.

Finding them, he stripped off the jeans he was wearing, in such a rush he actually fell over backwards. He just kicked them off from the ground and yanked the others on, rolling around on his floor to get them up and do up the fly.

A knock sounded on his door while he was still rolling around, but he called for whoever it was to enter, getting on all fours and trying to find where his wallet had gone since it'd fallen out of his pants when he'd thrown them away.

"Naruto, you sound like an elephant stampede, what the hell are you doing?" Kushina demanded, smirking slightly when she saw her son's butt in the air. She snuck further into the room and gave it a hard smack.

The blond hit his head against the handle of his nightside table. "Ow! Mom!"

"You're so ridiculous." She laughed and bent down, kissing the top of his head. "What's your hurry? Didn't Kiba call you cell phone?"

"No, I told him not to." Naruto lifted his bed covers and checked under his bed. It was a wallet! It couldn't have gone _that_ far!

"He's not going to be here until later."

Instantly, Naruto froze, collapsing to the ground and letting out a whine. He'd been rushing home, made Sasuke suspicious, and caused himself bodily harm only for his asshole of a best friend not to be on time. Really, he shouldn't have been surprised. It _was_ Kiba, after all. Who had a mother as protective as a... well, as a very protective animal.

"You couldn't have mentioned that a bit sooner?"

"Well, you didn't give me much of a chance to." His mother smiled, amused. "So you'll be eating dinner here. I suggest you find out when he's coming by so you're ready for him. God knows the mutt's going to have his damn car."

"He loves that thing. He had to suck up a lot to get it." The blond rolled onto his back and sighed at the ceiling. "But yeah, I should give him a call."

"I'll leave you to that." She started to leave, and then turned back to him. "Oh, are you inviting Sasuke?" He sat up slightly to give her a look. She frowned at him, and then realization struck. "Ah, of course. It's a shame, they'd have gotten along."

"You think so?" Naruto frowned. He was under the impression that they would _never_ get along... Kiba would annoy the shit out of Sasuke more than Naruto did. Kiba annoyed the shit out of _Naruto_! That was talent!

"I don't think you give Kiba enough credit sometimes, Naruto." She smiled at him, and closed his door.

He just sighed and slammed his head back against the floor, staring up at the ceiling. He debated whether or not to hang out with Sasuke until Kiba got there, but found it would be weird if he went over and was all "oh, false alarm, I can hang with you until, uh, you know, this certain time, cause I have to go do family things."

Right, because that wasn't suspicious at _all_.

Rolling around in annoyance at Kiba's retardedness ruining his entire life, Naruto fished his phone out of his other jeans pocket—finding his wallet in the process and sighing in annoyance—he flipped it open and speed-dialled Kiba's number.

"_Holy shit, dude, I almost fuckin' died, man! My mom caught me at the docks! Do you have any idea how dead my ass'd be if she caught me goin' to fuckin' England?!"_

"Well why did you get caught, dumbass? I rushed home because I thought you'd be here waiting for me, and you weren't!"

"_Well la-de-fuckin'-dah, fucknut! God, don't be such a drama queen! We're talkin' about my life, here! Momma almost __**caught**__ me, asshole!"_

"You used to be better." Naruto grunted, getting to his feet, and then immediately crouching. He decided it would be better if Sasuke didn't see him in his room. Then maybe he could convince him he'd been home in the living room all night or something. He was already feeling guilty about lying, he didn't want to have to keep doing it, so the less questions the other asked, the better. That, and he was a terrible liar.

"What happened, mutt? Mommy tighten your leash?" He grinned.

"_Oh fuck off, you motherfucker. You know she hates it when I ditch on Christmas! It's gonna be hard enough convincing her I was in my room all night while I'm out there with you! But especially now, I'm not gettin' out there until eleven, ten at the earliest."_

"Aw, fuck, man, are you serious?" Naruto sighed, crawling to his door and opening it, making his way out into the hall on all four's. He looked up when he encountered legs, his father staring down at him with the most perplexed expression on his face, glasses sliding off his nose and papers in his hand. Then, the older man looked away, shook his head in a "I don't want to know" manner, and disappeared into his study.

"_I'm tryin', all right? But now she's suspicious! So we won't be havin' dinner but who the fuck cares? We're goin' clubbing! Isn't that the main purpose of my visit? Don't be such a baby!"_

"Hey, you're the one who keeps escaping the madhouse to come see me. If anything, _you're_ the baby who can't handle being with his mother. I've got enough entertainment for me _right_ here." Naruto grinned, sitting on the top step of the stairs, and rubbing his eyes.

"_Ah, yes. The elusive boyfriend."_

"He's not my boyfriend." The blond's grin widened. "Yet."

"_Is he coming tonight? Tell me he's coming tonight." _Kiba sounded so hopeful, Naruto felt sort of bad not having them meet. But he couldn't, he _knew_ he couldn't.

"No, he's not," he said with a wince. Kiba was good at knowing when he was lying. If he asked why, the blond was screwed. Unless the Inuzuka was too worked up about almost being caught, then he might miss it...

"_And why the fuck can't he meet the coolest person in your life?!"_

_Shit!_ Naruto closed his eyes and rubbed them with his free hand. He could only hope the idiot was too busy worrying about his own ass to tell.

"He's with his family."

There. Short. Easy. He hadn't spoken enough for it to be obvious he was lying.

He hoped.

The silence on the other end wasn't very comforting. He could just see Kiba eying him suspiciously. He didn't want to have to lie to _both_ of them! _Just drop it, Kiba! Please just fucking drop it!_

"_Okay... I'll pretend I believe you cause you only lie to me when it's big."_

Well, there went Kiba not noticing.

"_Yeah, come in," _the brunet suddenly called, and Naruto knew he wasn't talking to him. He smiled slightly, glad for the brief interruption.

"_Sir,"_ the blond heard a low, raspy voice in the background, and would have yelled hello except Kiba would remember he was there and probably chew him out about lying again. _"I've brought the clothes you requested for this evening with Mr. Uzumaki."_

"_Oh my fuckin' Christ, Kakuzu! For the last fuckin' time, don't call me __**sir**__! Call me __**Kiba**__! You've been workin' for my family for like, a century and a half, you don't have to be proper like that with me! I mean, Hidan calls me 'brat' for fuck's sake!"_

"_You __**are**__ a brat!"_ A new voice piped up, Naruto practically rolling on the floor laughing. This conversation happened almost daily, and it _never_ got old.

"_That's not my point! Just—get the fuck out, both of you."_

"_As you wish, sir."_

"_**Stop calling me sir!"**_

There was an audible door slam on the other end, and Naruto tried to regain his breath, but it was proving difficult, especially since Kiba continued to grumble in French. He tended to do that when he got really agitated, and it always made the blond laugh even harder.

"_Ferme la, connard!"_

"English, dude," Naruto gasped, still laughing. "I don't speak dumbass."

"_Putain, j't'hais! I'll call you when I'm close, fucknut!"_

He was still laughing, even after Kiba had hung up.

* * *

Naruto stood nervously beside his door at ten-to-eleven that night, glancing up nervously through the small side window at Sasuke's room. The light had been off for hours, and he wondered if maybe he'd gone to bed early or something. Naruto tended to do that sometimes when he was bored. Sleeping was something to _do_, at least.

He checked the time again and let out a monstrous sigh, getting more and more annoyed with his ruined evening. He couldn't believe how much time he'd spent just... texting Kiba. The brunet always replied with a swear word in French—which meant he was getting _really_ annoyed with Naruto—and then told him to be patient.

Sorry, but Naruto felt six hours was patience e-fucking-nough!

Finally, he felt his phone ringing in his pocket and pulled it out. Flipping it open, he put it to his ear without a word.

"_I'm down the street, fucknut."_

He hung up and opened his front door. He tried to avoid looking up at Sasuke's window, just so that if the other randomly happened to see him, he wouldn't think Naruto was sneaking. Because he wasn't sneaking. He was just walking to the end of his driveway.

A set of headlights came in his direction, the sound of the other's engine making him wince slightly. Kiba slowed down near the edge of his driveway and Naruto bolted, pulling open the door and jumping in, the brunet speeding up again before he was even fully in the car.

Closing the door, the blond relaxed back into the seat with a sigh, closing his eyes, and then reached to put on his seatbelt. He'd need it the way Kiba drove.

"You are such a fuckin' primadonna, fucknut," the driver informed his friend.

"Whatever." Naruto didn't feel like starting anything with Kiba. Not with both of them annoyed like they were.

He turned to survey his friend, finding him with a half-finished cigarette dangling from between his lips, as per usual. He had another cigarette behind his right ear. Heaven forbid he should finish his current one and not have another accessible right away.

The Inuzuka was dressed similarly to Naruto, wearing jeans and a tight black shirt under his coat. Of course, his clothing looked like it had been worn one too many million times, but Naruto was under the impression he'd bought them that way.

"Kakuzu covering for you?"

"Nah, dumbass is holdin' down the boat for me." Kiba flicked his cigarette out the window, and grabbed the one from behind his ear, putting it between his lips and reaching into his pocket for a match. He pressed the end against his cheek, and then struck it, wincing slightly before bringing the flame to the end of his cigarette. "Sister's got my back this time. I owe her for Christmas."

"You know, you're gonna light your face on fire one day by doing that."

"Sacrifices, man." Kiba turned to grin at him, inhaling on the end of his cigarette and exhaling in the blond's face. Naruto winced.

"You're such an asshole, Kiba."

"I try. And since I missed out on dinner, I'll take you for dessert before we go to the club."

Naruto knew the idiot just wanted something sweet to eat, it had nothing to do with making up for missing dinner. But he didn't mind, he could use something sweet himself, especially since he felt that spending the night with Kiba in this mood meant he'd need sugar to not kill him. They pulled into a small desserts place in the downtown district and got themselves a seat, Kiba flirting with every waitress who passed their table. Naruto just rolled his eyes and severely wished he had opted to spend the night with Sasuke instead. He knew it was unfair though, Kiba could be fun, too. It just depended on what mood the other was in.

"So, now that I've got you here in person," Kiba turned his attention back to Naruto, the blond noting the dark smudges under his eyes. It meant the other hadn't been sleeping well again. "Wanna tell me about the bullshit lie you fed me earlier? About your boytoy?"

"I wasn't lying." Naruto shifted in his seat.

"Uh huh." Kiba stared at him, making it more than obvious he didn't buy a word of what Naruto had just said.

"It's complicated, okay," the blond sighed, raking a hand through his hair. "Even my mom doesn't think it's a good idea. You and him in the same room..." He winced at the mere thought.

He didn't know whether Kiba believed him or not, since the other was just staring at him, but he eventually leaned back in his seat, splaying his legs and crossing his arms.

"Well, I'm gonna meet him eventually if you make it serious, so think about that before it's serious."

"What constitutes as serious to you?" Naruto asked, somewhat concerned.

Kiba didn't answer because their waitress appeared just then, placing two plates down in front of them. The brunet's held a giant piece of chocolate cake, and Naruto's had a large eclair with chocolate and vanilla ice cream on either side of it. The blond couldn't help but chuckle slightly, even though the design looked nothing like a penis, he could shift the eclair to make it look like one.

"Thanks, darlin'." Kiba held out a fifty and winked at her. "Keep the change." He put it in the front of her apron and the girl smiled gratefully before walking away. "You were saying?" He looked back at Naruto, taking a bite of his cake.

"What constitutes as serious?" Naruto repeated, picking up his eclair and licking the ice cream off one side of it.

"Dude!" Kiba threw his fork down.

"What?"

"It's a fuckin' eclair, man. Don't eat it like a dick!" Kiba accused.

"Why?" Naruto grinned, the eclair still near his mouth. "Does that bother you?" He licked at the tip of the pastry.

"Éspèce de... t'es pas drôle, toi!" Kiba shouted at him. A few heads turned and glared slightly, but neither boy seemed to notice.

Naruto, himself, was highly amused by Kiba's reaction. He wasn't entirely sure what the other had just said, but it didn't sound happy. He just chuckled and took a bite out of the end of the eclair, using his finger to lead some stray cream into his mouth. He realized as he was doing so that he'd done the exact same thing almost twelve hours prior, with a different kind of cream.

He must've had a particularly easy-to-read expression on his face, because Kiba went back to eating his cake, and asked, "You haven't fucked him already, have you?"

"Hm?" Naruto looked up at him. "Who?"

"Your boy, fucknut. You haven't fucked him, have you? Cause I auto-meet him when you fuck the guy." He shoved another forkful of cake into his mouth, watching Naruto expectantly.

"No, we haven't gone that far yet." Naruto sighed, stabbing at his ice cream with his spoon and taking another bite of his pastry.

"Well, you've obviously done something," Kiba accused him, gulping down a few sips of his drink and going back to devouring his cake. "Otherwise you wouldn't look so damn nervous."

"Just drop it, okay?" Naruto kicked him under the table. "Eat your damn cake."

"Now _that_ I _can_ do."

Luckily for him, he knew one way to get Kiba to leave him alone was to remind him that he had food. But even without the other hounding him, he couldn't help but think about what he'd said. It was true, if it got to the point where he and Sasuke slept together, he would _want_ Kiba to meet him. He was his best friend. And similarly, he'd want his boyfriend to know his best friend.

He didn't know how he got himself into situations like this. He had to be a masochist because only a masochist would do this to themselves. He half-wanted to tell Kiba to forget it and then go spend Christmas at the Inuzuka's, but that wasn't fair to Sasuke. Especially after Naruto had gone through so much to get the asshole to pay attention to him.

Really, did Sasuke think him working out with his curtains drawn was an accident after he'd noticed that was the bastard's room? Naruto wasn't an idiot, as much as he acted like one sometimes. He got all his dumb genes from Kiba, the fucker was contagious.

"All right, mon p'tit con, let's go."

He looked back at Kiba when the other spoke and stood, then noticed his plate was empty. Naruto shoved the rest of his eclair in his mouth, not really interested in the melting ice cream anyway, and followed the other out the door, chocking slightly on the pastry. It was much harder to handle than a cock, that was for sure. For one thing, a cock didn't randomly have cream explode from the seams, just the tip.

Kiba slid across the hood of his car to get to the driver's side and opened the door. He started the car and was driving away before Naruto had even fully entered. The brunet liked to do that, for whatever reason. Naruto assumed he found it funny when people were running alongside his car.

"So, which club you wanna go to?" Kiba inquired, lighting a new cigarette and flicking the match out the window.

"Whichever. I know how you feel about the gay bars. But similarly, I know how you feel about the straight ones." Naruto grinned at him.

"Yeah, laugh it the fuck up, Chuckles." The brunet growled, and then started cursing in French under his breath.

"It's not my fault the girls flock to the blond guy, mutt."

"And ironically, when we go to the gay bars, _I'm_ the one who gets hit on."

"At least you get free drinks." Naruto shrugged.

"Heh," Kiba laughed. "Yeah, that's awesome." Then he frowned. "But not the point!"

"Hey man, I leave it to you."

The brunet was puffing pretty hard on his cigarette for a few minutes, and it made it easy for Naruto to know what he was thinking. He grinned and looked out the window, waiting for Kiba to realize what he was considering. Naruto always tended to catch on before the other did.

"I fucking hate you, Uzumaki." He changed lanes without signalling and turned towards the same bar Naruto had brought Sasuke to.

* * *

If there was anything funnier than watching a straight guy try to dance and have a good time in a gay bar, then whoever thought so had obviously never been to a gay bar with Kiba. Naruto had to stop looking at him after a while because he spent more time doubled over laughing than actually dancing. He could understand, at least, because they'd only been there for ten minutes and Kiba'd already gotten five drink offers.

Still, Naruto wondered why the other was always such a freak about these places, because it wasn't like someone was going to jump on him and start humping him from behi—okay, well there was that _one_ time, but in the guy's defence, he'd been drunk. And for Kiba's ego, he'd broken the guy's nose, so fair was fair.

Looking around, Naruto noticed quite a few people were looking at him, as well, which he didn't like. He wasn't taken, per se, but he wasn't really single anymore, either. So he didn't really want people trying to get with him. Sadly, he only knew one way to dissuade people.

"Hey Kiba—"

"Fuck you, Uzumaki, no!"

Naruto shrugged, a grin forming on his lips, because he knew it wouldn't last long. It never did with Kiba. The guy was so scared of getting hit on that as soon as the next person approached them, he was going to concede defeat and, for once, help Naruto in a similar fashion. The blond could tell a guy in the back corner was debating whether or not to come over.

"Putain! Merde, con, tabarnac! Fine!"

Naruto turned to Kiba with a grin, putting both hands on the other's hips. Kiba was glaring at him so hatefully that the blond was actually worried he would spit his lit cigarette into one of his eyes.

The brunet's arms moved up over his shoulders, Kiba letting out a low growl. "If you get hard against me, I'm cutting your dick off and driving over it with my car."

"Do I _ever_ get hard?" Naruto rolled his eyes and yanked Kiba closer, burying his face in the other's neck.

Now Naruto wasn't a good liar, it was true, but one thing he'd always managed to keep hidden was that, sometimes, he _was_ a little attracted to his friend. Of course, now wasn't such a time since he had someone of interest in his life, but there had been many occasions where both of them had gotten drunk, and Naruto was happy that Kiba was a blackout drunk, because he wasn't sure the other would feel this comfortable with him anymore if he knew some of the things they'd done while under the influence.

Not that Naruto had ever fucked him, he wasn't _that_ much of an asshole, but he'd definitely gone further than a straight guy would've liked, that was for sure.

He rocked his hips against the other's, trying to make him move more fluidly and not be so damn stiff. It was pretty obvious he was straight the way he was moving, but the blond just hoped no one could tell in the dark. All they needed to see was two bodies pressed together, some light touching, a little kissing, and they'd leave them alone.

Tanned hands moved down slightly over Kiba's jean-clad ass, and then back up under his shirt, nails dragging along the other's flesh. He licked the Inuzuka's neck once and then moved his lips up to his ear, biting at it lightly and then moving back down to bite along his jawline. When he reached his lips, one hand came up to pull the cigarette free from them, flicking it towards the ground. Kiba just glared at him when he moved in to bite at his bottom lip, trying to ignore the taste and smell of smoke. That was one thing he'd never liked about kissing Kiba: the taste.

No one wanted to kiss an ashtray.

"No tongue, fucknut."

"Do I ever use tongue?" Naruto rolled his eyes again.

Using his hands on the other's back to pull him closer, he pressed his lips against Kiba's, trying to ignore how stiff he was against him. He pulled away and nipped lightly at his lower lip, then kissed him again.

A flash to their left caused Naruto to bite down harder than he'd meant to and then jerk towards the light, grabbing the shirt of the person who'd just taken the picture. He reared back his fist to punch them but Kiba grabbed his wrist.

"Dude! C'est un mec! Un mec! It's just a guy!"

Naruto let his eyes adjust and saw a really worried—and confused—guy staring back at him with a digital camera in his hand. His boyfriend shoved at Naruto's chest, making him let the guy's shirt go and stumble back a step. Kiba stepped between them.

"Hey, it was a misunderstandin'. It's cool, we're all cool." He held up a fifty, then handed it to the guy. "We're cool, okay."

The guy glared at Naruto, then grabbed the fifty and pulled his boyfriend away. The guy just stared at Naruto, confused, and followed.

"Sorry," the blond mumbled. "I forgot."

"On est pas au Canada, mon ami." Kiba patted his shoulder with a smile.

"_English_, dude." Naruto rubbed his face, his heart slamming somewhere up in his throat.

He felt bad for scaring and confusing the guy, but generally, when cameras flashed around Kiba, they weren't the good kind. He didn't want the brunet getting in trouble with his mom for being in England, nor did he want any more dumb stories to pop up because of a misunderstanding.

"Calm down, fucknut. We're not in Canada."

"Right." Naruto looked up at him, then reached for his lips with one hand, wincing. "Sorry. I didn't mean to bite down so hard."

"It's cool." Kiba licked at the blood on his lip, Naruto seeing a small cut there from where he'd bitten him. "It'll heal." The Inuzuka pulled him. "Come on, let's get a beer."

"Make that two, and you're buying."

Kiba just snorted and shoved Naruto slightly, making his way to the bar. He slapped it and motioned a beer, raising two fingers. When the bartender turned away, Naruto noticed the brunet looking at him. He turned to stare back.

"What?"

"Did you do that for me, or so your boyfriend wouldn't see you?" Kiba grinned.

Naruto hoped he was joking, because he'd been sticking up for the moron his entire life. Every time a camera went off, he was there. This time was no different. It was instinct, now.

"Even if he did, I'd just tell him the truth about what happened."

"Oh?" Kiba handed money over and took the beers, holding one out to Naruto. The blond took it gratefully. "And what's that?" Kiba took a swig.

"That you're the straightest thing on the planet. You're so straight, Kiba, you make _straight_ look crooked."

The brunet laughed slightly, then cuffed him across the back of the head. "Ferme la. Let's dance."

* * *

Naruto knew he'd had a lot to drink the night before. Not as much as when he'd gone out with Sasuke, for sure, but—enough. Enough for his head to hurt a little when he started to gain consciousness again. He heard snoring coming from the floor beside him and frowned, opening his eyes. He rubbed at them sleepily with one hand, his other reaching out and groping around for his alarm clock, turning it.

He leapt out of bed. Right onto Kiba.

"Shit! Kiba! Kiba, get up! It's seven!"

The brunet jerked into a sitting position, turning bleary, confused eyes in the blond's direction. "Quoi?"

"Seven! Sept! Time!"

It took about two seconds for the words to click and then his eyes snapped open. "Ah, merde!"

"Yeah! What you said!"

The two of them tore Naruto's room apart, collecting Kiba's various articles of clothing and his wallet, phone and keys. He held them all in a huge pile in his arms, then ran out Naruto's bedroom door, the blond following behind him.

"Oversleep, boys?" Kushina asked, coming up the stairs, obviously on her way to wake them.

"Hi mom." Kiba kissed her left cheek when he passed.

"Morning mum." Naruto kissed her right one and hurried after his friend.

The brunet was pushing his feet into his shoes, Naruto grabbing his jacket and throwing it onto the pile in his arms. Then, he opened the front door, Kiba rushing outside in nothing but jeans and his shoes. The cold air bit at Naruto's skin—he was wearing only his jeans—and he knew Kiba would've been bitching about the cold if he wasn't so terrified of dying.

"Kiba, keys!" Naruto grabbed them off the hall table and threw them at him.

Turning, the brunet managed to catch them with one hand, opening his passenger side door and throwing his stuff inside. Slamming the door, he slid across the hood of his car, got behind the wheel, and with a roar of his engine, disappeared down the street.

Shaking his head, Naruto laughed and walked back into the house, closing the door. Letting out a sigh, he moved into the kitchen and fell down in his usual seat, groaning slightly and burying his face in his arms.

"Hi," he said to his dad, who was sitting beside him, reading the paper and nursing a coffee. His reply was a light pat to the head. He let out another groan and tried to pass back out, but he knew there was no way. He was up for the day now.

"Did he leave with enough time?"

"I don't know." Naruto got more comfortable. "If not, his mother will kill him."

"Yes, that's rather what I'm afraid of." Minato chuckled. "Did you have fun?"

"Mm. Almost beat up some poor guy taking a picture of his boyfriend."

"You're a good friend, Naruto. I know Kiba appreciates it."

The blond lifted his head to regard his father, but he was hidden behind his newspaper. "You think so?"

"Of course." He lowered it and grinned at Naruto. "Now you just need to decide what you're going to do."

"Going to do?" Naruto was puzzled.

"About Sasuke and Kiba."

He groaned again and buried his face in his arms once more. It was too early in the morning to be having this discussion. Especially since he didn't want to be having it ever. It was true he'd have to address it eventually, but that was only if Sasuke decided to keep him around. For the moment, he wasn't going to worry about it too much.

What Sasuke didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

The doorbell rang and Naruto groaned. He groped around until he grabbed the edge of his father's newspaper, and pulled it from the other's grasp, covering his head with it. Minato just chuckled and got up, Naruto listening to him pad towards the front door. He could hear two people talking in low voices, and then his father reappeared.

"Naruto, it's for you. It's, uh—it's Sasuke. He doesn't look very happy."

_He saw..._ He thought with a sigh. _Don't jump to conclusions, maybe he just happened to be awake and came over to say good morning or something._

Grunting, he forced himself to stand, trudging towards the door and handing the newspaper to his dad as he passed. He walked out into the hallway and towards the open front door, flashing Sasuke a grin when he came into view.

"Morning, princess. Miss me so much you needed to come over bright and early?"

The glare he received could have frozen Satan's balls off. _Oh yeah... he definitely saw..._

"How was your night?"

Naruto couldn't decide if the air outside, or Sasuke's tone was colder. He was betting on Sasuke's tone. It was positively arctic. Now he just had to hope that the Uchiha didn't know him well enough to tell he was lying.

"Okay." He clapped his hands together, pressing them against his lips. "So about last night..."

"Yes, let's discuss last night." Sasuke's voice had lowered in coldness. Naruto resisted the urge to rub his arms. He was getting cold standing there without a shirt, the winter air and Sasuke's icy demeanour slamming into him.

"Okay, I went out. But it was—a kind of thing where I couldn't really... control who came..." Naruto winced, knowing his wording had come out wrong, but unsure of how to really explain his evening with Kiba without—well, _telling_ him about Kiba.

"And _what_, exactly, does _that_ mean?"

"He was doing a favour for me." Naruto almost jumped out of his skin when his father's hand fell onto his shoulder. "My boss' son is a big party animal, but it's not safe to go out alone around here. I asked if Naruto would go with him, and he agreed." Hunching his shoulder slightly, the blond looked over his shoulder, smiling gratefully at his father. Minato smiled back at him, then looked at Sasuke again. "I guess he didn't want to tell you because he knew you wouldn't be able to tag along, and he didn't want to explain he was doing his old man a favour."

It was like the entire house had warmed up ten degrees. Naruto didn't feel the need to grab a blanket anymore, and he didn't even have to look at Sasuke to know the other had calmed down. He probably even felt a little embarrassed.

He chanced a glance at Sasuke, and sure enough, the raven had tinges of pink on his cheeks, even though his face was entirely devoid of emotion. The Uchiha cleared his throat and crossed his arms, shifting his weight.

"You could've just told me, you know."

"I felt bad," Naruto blurted out, going with the story his father had so kindly provided him with. The older man, himself, had walked away by now. "I would have wanted you to come, and I know you'd have wanted to as well, but I knew you wouldn't be able to. It just seemed easier saying I was just gonna be home all night."

"Oh." Sasuke was avoiding his eye, now. "Um... right..."

"Hey." Naruto smiled and moved forward, hugging Sasuke. He felt the other tense briefly, and then relax, but he didn't hug him back. That made him wince slightly. "Sorry. I should've said something, I just—well, I already explained."

He pulled away, finding it weird to hug someone when they weren't hugging you back. "Hey, how about we hang today? Let's go catch another movie or something?"

"No." Naruto tried to hide how much that one word hurt. "I don't want to see a movie, let's just... My parents are going out later with my brother to go Christmas shopping. Wanna come by and play some video games?"

The blond was shocked for a few seconds, then his face melted into a devious grin. He noticed Sasuke had started blushing again, even though he was scowling.

"You sure you trust me in a house _alone_ with you?"

"Maybe I'm counting on you not behaving yourself." Sasuke smirked.

"Touche, my friend." Naruto licked his lips, eyes roving over the other's body, which he had already been privy to once. "Just say when and I'll be there."

"Keep an eye on my window." The raven smirked, walking backwards down the porch. "Shouldn't be hard. You watch me about as often as I watch you."

"Touche again. You're on a roll today."

Sasuke shook his head and turned around, walking back towards his house. Naruto watched him go as long as his bare arms could stand, and then closed the door, jumping on the spot to warm up.

"Damn, it's cold!" he exclaimed, shaking slightly. He glanced out the side-window. "At least it's not snowing. No driveway shovelling today!"

He turned and skipped towards the stairs so he could shower before he got the signal to come over but paused when he passed the kitchen. His father was sitting at the table again, reading his paper and nursing that same cup of coffee.

Sighing, he walked up behind him and hugged him tightly, feeling bad his father had had to lie for him, especially since he knew the other hated lying as much as he did.

"Thanks dad," he whispered, tightening his hold.

Minato reached up and rubbed one of his arms. "Just don't keep it a secret forever, Naruto. It'll blow up on you eventually. You'll have to tell them."

"I know, just—not yet. I just met Sasuke, and I don't want to ruin a lifetime of friendship with Kiba over something I'm not sure about."

"I think you underestimate them, son. Both of them. They're big boys."

"Yeah, but—just give me more time." He tightened his hold for a second, then released his father. "I'll tell them, just not yet."

He turned and headed up the stairs, hearing his dad give a disappointed sigh.

* * *

Naruto took his time in the shower, washing off all the sweat and smoke from the previous night, and laughing every now and then when he recalled things he did with Kiba to make people leave them alone. Because he was going to be driving early in the morning—a few hours after they got home—Kiba didn't drink as much as he usually did, which meant he was mostly sober. And when he was sober, touching Naruto freaked him out.

It was somewhat funny to the blond. Kiba had no problem jumping up on him, and wrapping his arms and legs around him, but he couldn't dance with him. Then again, he knew the reason Kiba did that was because he was psychotic and eccentric, and because they were best friends. Naruto kind of liked that Kiba trusted him enough not to drop him.

He also liked that Kiba trusted him enough to kiss him. Considering how almost hysterically homophobic his best friend was, the fact that he was still best friends with him, and indulged him every now and then was quite a feat, and he had to give his friend some credit.

The blond was just getting out of the shower when he heard his phone ring. He trudged into his room, a towel around his waist and dug through his pants to find it. Flipping it open, he put it against his ear and winced, unsure of whether or not he was going to get his eardrum burst.

"Hello?" he asked tentatively.

"_We are so fuckin' lucky, dude,"_ Kiba said breathlessly. Naruto could tell he'd probably bolted from the docks to the house and up into his room. _"My mom overslept. She's just wakin' up now. I need to shower or she'll know I was out, but I'm home free."_

Naruto heard his friend's voice echoing when he changed rooms, obviously in the bathroom by now.

"That was too close this morning, dude." Naruto started picking his clothes up, throwing them in the hamper and choosing his clothes for later with Sasuke. He glanced up out of habit, but the raven wasn't in his room. Naruto assumed he was eating breakfast or something. "I was sure you wouldn't make it."

"_Fuck, me too! Kakuzu was callin' me non-stop but my fuckin' phone was off! By the time I got to the boat, you shoulda heard the guy! He was trippin' all over himself, all 'sir, sir! We must go! We must go!' and all that bullshit."_ Kiba snorted. _"And of course, Hidan fuckin' hits me over the head with a pool stick for being late. As if it's __**my**__ fault! Broke the stick, too! Now I have to get it replaced before momma notices."_

"Well, it technically _was_ your fault," Naruto reminded him, inspecting a shirt, then shrugging and pulling it on. "You shouldn't have overslept and made them both worry they were going to lose their jobs."

"_Momma would never fire them. They look out for me, she knows that. She'd just be a little pissed."_

"You mean a lot pissed. Your mom only has two moods: pissed off, and psychotic."

"_True. It's why she had to marry a French-Canadian. The English ones couldn't handle her."_ He could hear the grin in his friend's voice, and laughed, shaking his head.

"You are ridiculous, dude." Naruto walked back into his bathroom to grab a second towel, using it to dry his hair and wandering around his room. He couldn't get boxers and pants on while on the phone with Kiba. You _never_ used your shoulder to hold the phone when talking to Kiba. He had random outbursts that made it convenient to be holding a phone, because it could be pulled away from an ear.

"_Anyway, I should shower in case she pops in here and smells the smoke. I'll see if I can make it back out before Christmas, but you know how she gets."_

"Mm, I do. Try not to get killed, mutt. I'd be sad if you died."

"_Fuck you, fucknut. Later."_

Naruto hung up when the dial tone buzzed in his ear. He smiled slightly and shook his head, tossing his phone onto his bed and grabbing boxers from his top drawer.

He glanced over at Sasuke's window, and found the other was sitting at his desk now. Their eyes met and the raven smirked. Naruto grinned and, unashamed, let the towel fall from around his waist, making a huge show of pulling on his boxers. He then dug around for a pair of jeans, yanking them on as well. Then, he stared inquiringly at Sasuke, the raven shaking his head.

Naruto could've sworn he saw the other sigh when confirming that his parents were still home. It made him wonder what Mr. Uchiha had planned for them. Turning, he went to grab a book off his shelf, and then pulled his chair up to his window, sitting down in it and putting his feet up on the window ledge.

He made sure to look up every now and then to see if there was any change across the street, but the book was actually fairly entertaining. He was almost halfway through it before the sound of a garage door opening made him look up.

Quickly lowering his feet, he ducked from in front of the window, not wanting Sasuke's family to see him there. He didn't think their first thoughts would be that he was spying on Sasuke, but just in case. The blond was pretty sure Itachi already knew, either way, but why help further along his well of knowledge?

He waited until the car was gone before actually peeking over the edge of the window. Sasuke waved him over, and he grinned, standing up and tossing the book onto his bed, not even thinking to save his page.

Naruto had know Sasuke for six days. He wondered how far they could go before it was deemed inappropriate for knowing someone for six days.

"On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..." Naruto ginned, heading for the stairs. He continued to hum the song all the way across the street.

**

* * *

-dances-  
**


	5. The Game

**AN: Got my comp back. Hurray! Just in time for shit to go insane at work! SERIOUSLY! CAN SOMETHING JUST HAPPEN SO I CAN WRITE CONSISTENTLY AND NOT HAVE TO TAKE CONSTANT BREAKS! It's getting on my nerves! **

******AN2: (Edit) Due to the FF smackdown, I've edited all lemony chapters to be less detailed so if they seem kinda disjointed, that's why. If you want the original versions, they're posted on Ygal. **

Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches.

* * *

A lot of things were going through Sasuke's mind when he sat down at his desk, waiting for his parents to leave the house. First, he felt like maybe he might have overreacted a little bit, and he was glad Naruto didn't seem too put off by it. Honestly, _what_ had he been thinking just storming over there in a rage like that? Especially considering they weren't really anything, so to speak.

So they'd made out, and Naruto had sucked him off in the shower, so what? That didn't mean he could suddenly control the blond and demand he see no one but him. Even if Sasuke was possessive, they needed to understand their relationship before he could start getting _that_ possessive. Besides, Itachi'd always said it was kind of a turn-off, but the younger Uchiha couldn't help it. As attractive as everyone said he was, he knew he didn't have the best personality. It would be easy to cheat on him.

_Not that he cheated since we'd have to be together for him to cheat,_ he reminded himself.

Which led him to his next thought: Naruto's father. The older man had insisted it had been a favour to him that had led Naruto to go out the previous night, and Sasuke saw no reason for him to lie. Why would he lie to save the blond's ass if he was doing something that would hurt Sasuke? It didn't seem to be in his character, based on what he'd learned about Minato during their dinner.

But he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that something wasn't quite right. All right, so maybe it explained why Naruto had jumped into a random silver Porsche, but what about the fact that he'd seen that car before, and had watched Naruto and a brunet wrestling in the snow? There was no way he'd imagined that, not now that he knew that car was real. What were the chances of him hallucinating a car like that and then seeing the exact same one? Very slim.

So was that brunet with the dumb tattoos Naruto's dad's boss' son? They'd seemed pretty damn chummy to him, going to a club alone with that guy didn't seem like a burden to Naruto in Sasuke's opinion. Or maybe they _weren't_ chummy at all, but the blond pretended to be with him so that his dad stayed on good terms with the boss?

_But then who's to say he won't do whatever it takes to keep the boss happy?_ Sasuke thought with a frown, looking up in time to see Naruto exit the bathroom, talking on the phone. The other looked incredibly pleased with his conversation, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly.

He honestly didn't know what to make of their current situation, which he supposed was partly why he'd invited Naruto over on a whim when things had sort of been cleared up. Honestly, he wasn't sure he trusted himself alone with the charming blond. He didn't know how convincing the other could be, and wondered what he'd do if they were suddenly both naked and starting to fuck.

Even though Sasuke had already decided he was willing to have a winter fling with this guy, another part of him was insisting he wanted _more_ than just a fling. Like Naruto had said, if things progressed well, they didn't live all that far apart. And what were the odds? Sasuke didn't believe in fate, but it certainly seemed like some higher being was at work here. Why else would he have met someone who was attractive and charming, his winter neighbour, _and_ lived within driving distance of him at home? There had to be a reason for all this.

His eyes focussed when startling blue locked with his own and he smirked. Naruto grinned and let his towel drop, Sasuke's eyes instantly lowering. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the other's nether regions before, but somehow knowing Naruto _wanted_ him to look there made his room seem a few degrees warmer. He watched the other wiggle into clothing, and then cock his head slightly.

Understanding, Sasuke shook his head, letting out a sigh. He wanted his parents to leave so that Naruto would head over, but at the same time, wondered what would happen when he did. Sasuke wasn't ready to drop the brunet, but he felt pursuing it might just annoy the blond, especially if it really _had_ just been a favour for his father.

Besides, Sasuke wasn't a jealous little schoolgirl, for crying out loud! He was Sasuke fucking Uchiha! He could have anyone he wanted, so _why_ he thought a stupid scruffy-looking beast was _any_ competition, he had _no_ idea.

Still, it bothered him.

He noticed Naruto had grabbed a book, and was reading it while glancing up every now and then, but Sasuke's mind was far too preoccupied with his thoughts for him to even fathom picking up a book. So, he just sat there and stared across the street, his mind continuing to churn through all the information it had received.

Every time his eyes focussed, he noticed Naruto was turning a page. Eventually, he ended up just staring at the blond, noting how quickly he read since the pages were turning faster and faster. It was evident he wasn't skipping pages, but Sasuke was sure he was skimming. Nobody could read that fast.

"Honey?"

Sasuke almost jumped, but managed to stand, making it look like he'd intended to leap to his feet that way. He turned slowly to look at his mother, the woman smiling at him.

"We're going out now. Did you want anything? We're probably going to be stopping for groceries on the way home."

"No thank you," he replied politely, then hesitated. His mother obviously noticed he might have something to add, because she waited, cocking her head to the side slightly. "Um, I was wondering... Do you think it would be all right if Naruto had dinner here?"

"Sure, honey!" Mrs. Uchiha smiled. "That's so thoughtful, especially considering his family invited you. Perfect. I'll have to think of what to make while at the store, but yes, of course it's all right."

"And um, what if he stayed over? Not saying he will, but just in case?"

She raised an eyebrow at this question, chuckling slightly. "It's all right if he wants to, Sasuke, but he _does_ live right across the street. Besides, aren't you a little too old to be playing sleep-over?" She teased. "Though if you want him to stay the night for _other _reasons, just try and be quiet about it."

"Mum!" Sasuke exclaimed, horrified and embarrassed, feeling his cheeks beginning to burn.

"I'm just saying," she insisted, laughing slightly, even though Sasuke knew in her mind it would never happen. To her, she was still his little boy and though she teased him a lot about sex, she was still under the assumption Sasuke was a virgin. He didn't have the heart to burst her happy little bubble.

"We'll see you in a few hours, Sasuke." She closed the door behind herself, leaving an embarrassed and disturbed Sasuke in her wake, if only because he didn't know what Naruto had planned for their afternoon alone. He turned to look back out the window, Naruto still sitting reading his book.

When he felt more than heard the garage door rumble upwards beneath his feet, Naruto glanced up, and promptly fell off his chair. Well, Sasuke was sure he'd removed himself from it, but from the angle the Uchiha was standing, it looked like he'd just fallen out of it, and it made him smile, the flush in his cheeks slowly dissipating.

Leaning forward on his desk, Sasuke watched his parents' car disappear down the street, able to make out the smirk on Itachi's face from where he stood, and glaring at the older man. When the car was no longer in sight, he looked over at Naruto's window, the blond standing framed in it, the book he'd been reading clutched in his hand. Smirking, Sasuke waved him over, blinked, and the blond was gone.

Feeling his heart give a double-beat in his chest, he moved slowly towards his door, making his way down the corridor and reaching the stairs when the doorbell rang. He took his sweet time making it downstairs, not wanting to appear too eager, and shoved his hands in his pockets. Turning slowly, he moved towards the front door, only to hear a sliding sound from the living room. He changed direction, entering the other room and cocking an eyebrow.

Naruto was climbing through the window again.

"You know, that's called breaking and entering," Sasuke smirked.

"You were taking too long. Besides, who's to say you wouldn't like it if I broke into your house?" Grinning, the blond lowered the window once more and threw his jacket onto the back of the couch. He kicked off his shoes, shoved his hands in his own pockets, and moved closer to Sasuke. "Maybe... Maybe you came downstairs to get a drink after your parents left." He inched even closer, the Uchiha smirking and bringing his arms up to cross them.

He knew what Naruto was doing, and honestly, he didn't think he was all that opposed to it. He just wanted to hear the whole story before he decided whether or not he wanted to play.

The blond was right in front of him, now, grinning sexily at him, his hands still in his pockets. Neither of them moved, both just staring at one another while Naruto continued his story.

"Maybe I thought I'd be breaking into an empty house to get some goodies to sell, but instead I was met with something else I'd rather have."

Sasuke felt all the hairs on the back of his neck rise at the other's tone, Naruto lowering his voice and licking his lips, blue eyes slowly looking him over appreciatively.

"And what if I knew karate and could kick your ass?" Sasuke inquired, slowly moving around Naruto. The blond turned, following his movements, eyes still roving over his body.

"Maybe you didn't want to hurt me. Maybe I was everything you'd ever wanted, but never knew it until you finally laid eyes on me."

A chill ran down Sasuke's spine. He really wished Naruto would stop using that tone of voice, it was making him get hot and bothered. "Maybe you're right, but who's to say I'd make it easy for you?"

"Maybe I don't want it to be easy." Naruto grinned, walking past him and back towards the window, apparently intent on making this improvised role-play a reality. "Maybe I want you to fight me."

"I always knew you liked it rough, Uzumaki," Sasuke said, licking his lips unconsciously. He liked it rough, too, so right now, he was looking forward to their game.

"Name's not Uzumaki anymore, princess. Go get your glass of water." Naruto grinned.

Rolling his eyes, the raven obeyed, going into the kitchen to grab himself a Coke out of the fridge. He tapped the top twice, and then popped the tab, taking a large swallow and leaning back against the counter. If Naruto wanted to play, he wasn't going to make it easy for him. Sasuke had never done this before, but he _had_ done improvisations in his drama classes in high school. Those didn't usually end in ways he was thinking this one would, but it was enough.

Taking another swig of his drink, he pushed away from the counter, moving back into the main hall and heading for the stairs. Movement out of the corner of his eye made him turn his head, but the blond he'd just seen was gone.

Shrugging, he took another sip of his drink and ascended the stairs, putting his can down on the hall table and stretching on his way to his room. Something fell over downstairs and he whipped around, more concerned about what had just fallen than playing his part for their game. Nothing sounded broken, and he was sure Naruto wouldn't go so far as to destroy his family's property.

"Great, someone let a rat into the house," Sasuke called loudly with a smirk, knowing Naruto wouldn't like that.

He headed back for the stairs, descending them slowly, almost lazily, and walked back into the living room. He frowned at the overturned coffee table and moved forward to set it upright. Just as he bent down to grab it, a tanned hand closed around his wrist and whipped him around.

Letting out an actual shout of pain, he was slammed face-first into the wall, his arm pulled up his back painfully. His other hand flailed slightly to try and hit the asshole behind him, but that wrist was caught as well, and slammed against the wall above his head.

Breathing hard, and wondering how far Naruto was actually going to go with this, he tried to turn his head slightly when the other pressed himself against him, the blond's front flush with Sasuke's back. He tried to ignore the way something was poking him in the ass.

"What have we got here?" Naruto's voice was that same, low tone he'd used while describing their little game, and it made all the hairs on Sasuke's arms and the back of his neck rise on end.

"Who are you?" Sasuke bit out, twisting his wrist slightly, and hoping Naruto would loosen his grip on it. He really _was_ pushing it up rather far. "What are you doing in here?"

"Mm, I seem to recall being called a rat." Naruto's lips were brushing against the shell of his ear, and then moved towards his temple. Sasuke shivered slightly, gritting his teeth.

As much as he wanted this to be fun for both of them, though, he also valued the use of his arms and considering one of them was at risk of being dislocated, he decided it was time to show Naruto he hadn't just been saying things at random.

Namely the part about knowing karate.

He didn't want to damage Naruto _too_ much, though, so instead of slamming his head backwards into his attacker's—like he would have done were this real—he instead pivoted slightly so the pressure of his left arm diminished, and then angled one leg up to knee him in the stomach.

Naruto's grip loosened, but he didn't let go, and Sasuke had to wrench his right arm free so he could turn more easily, the blond still gripping his left one. The idiot was grinning, his free hand now resting atop his stomach.

"That wasn't very nice," he said in that same low voice. It was seriously starting to creep Sasuke out. Just how into this _was_ he?

Before Sasuke could decide what to do next, Naruto smacked him hard across the face, the raven seeing stars for a few seconds before anger boiled up from his stomach. He was slammed back against the wall again, all the wind rushing from his lungs, and the grip around his wrists so tight he was sure there would be bruises.

"What the fuck is your problem?" he demanded angrily, somewhat losing interest in their game now that Naruto was taking it just a little too far.

"You know, it's funny, because you're glaring at me and yelling at me for how rough I'm being, and yet..."

A jolt ran up Sasuke's spine when Naruto's knee pressed against his crotch. He looked down at himself, not even having noticed his reaction—and then wondered how he could have possibly missed that.

_Am I some kind of masochist?_ He wondered, still staring down at the knee pressing against him. _He knocks me around, smacks me across the face, and I get hard? Seriously?_ He supposed it explained why he liked rough sex. He just hadn't realized how rough he liked it before.

So, all right, he would forgive Naruto just this once, because learning new things about his own body was always a bonus. With that in mind, he returned to their game.

"What is it you want?" he growled through clenched teeth. Even if he was playing along, it didn't stop the ache in his jaw. He kind of wished he _had_ headbutted Naruto, now.

"Well, with a spread like this," Naruto looked around briefly, then back at Sasuke, "I was thinking of getting a nice payday, but you had to ruin that, didn't you?" He smirked, and it was so un-Naruto-like that Sasuke couldn't help but stare at him for a few seconds. Forget psychology, why the fuck wasn't Naruto in acting?

"Fine," he managed to bite out after his head had cleared slightly. "Then take what you want, and go!"

"Mm, that was before. This is after. You've ruined my entire plan by being home. I feel like I should teach you what happens when you fuck with me, little boy."

Naruto was pressed up against him again, his hot breath ghosting along the raven's pale neck. The Uchiha's eyes closed of their own accord, a groan forcing its way up his throat.

Sasuke wasn't even sure how it had happened, but one second he was against the wall, and all of a sudden, he was lying on his back on the floor. Naruto practically tore his shirt off, and Sasuke scowled somewhat angrily, seeing as how he had been rather fond of that shirt. Then all conscious thought left his brain when the blond's hands undid his pants.

Blue eyes looked up at him and Sasuke groaned, letting his head fall back against the ground. His fingers dug into the floor and his back arched slightly.

For a few euphoric minutes, all Sasuke's thoughts were focussed on Naruto. Back in the shower, the rising panic of being caught by his mother had somewhat lessened his focus on the blond. Now, here, with absolutely no risk of being caught, he spent almost the entire time focussing on him.

He did feel things were progressing between them rather quickly, but he reminded himself, he'd decided to be a little risque for once.

Their antics didn't last long, and Sasuke's back arched off the ground, the Uchiha biting back a shout as best he could. He'd tried his best to keep his voice in, but it had just burst out without his consent, and even though he knew Naruto had heard him once before, he was still slightly embarrassed.

When he raised his head to look down at Naruto, he saw the other grinning at him.

"I thought you were going to murder me when I stopped for a second there," Naruto said with a smirk, shifting so he was leaning back, propped against his elbows.

"For a second, I was considering it," Sasuke replied, his voice low and husky. If Sasuke Uchiha had thought he didn't have a bedroom voice in the past, Naruto had just gotten it out of him.

Grinning in satisfaction, the blond struggled to his feet with a wince, one hand reaching down to rearrange himself. He started to walk out of the room, evidently on his way to a bathroom, when a thought struck Sasuke. Why should Naruto have to go relieve himself when he had a perfectly good mouth in range? After all, the blond had given him two blowjobs since they'd met six days ago, who was Sasuke not to return the favour?

Not even bothering to pull his pants up, since Naruto was already almost out of the living room, he clambered to his feet, his pants down his thighs, grabbed the blond's arm and wrenched him back, slamming him against the wall.

Naruto was so shocked that Sasuke saw fear flash briefly through the sapphire depths, but he was on his knees a second later, so whatever else flashed through those gorgeous eyes, he didn't see it. His hands fumbled to undo the blond's belt, and then his pants, pulling them down to just about the same place as his own pants on his thighs.

Hissing, tanned hands twined themselves into black hair, Sasuke smirking at the moan already past the blond's lips, and he hadn't even started yet. Though he knew he wasn't anywhere near as talented as the blond, he was sure he had his own techniques that would have Naruto begging for more before long.

He could tell Naruto couldn't decide if he liked or hated his technique, and Sasuke knew how he felt. When people did this to him, he loved it, but at the same time, hated it because it made things end quickly. He didn't want a quick end for Naruto, he wanted the blond to remember this. He wanted to blow his fucking mind.

He felt he was doing rather well, considering he could feel Naruto's hands tightening and loosening in his hair. Then, Naruto's hands clenched and tugged before he shouted.

Trying not to betray the fact that he'd almost choked, Sasuke pulled away and took a deep breath, trying to clear his lungs. He looked up at the glazed-over blue eyes above him, and smirked.

"Eat a lot of pineapples, Uzumaki?"

"Maybe. You never know when a sexy neighbour is going to blow your mind."

Sasuke had to smirk at the words, since he'd been thinking them not two minutes previously. He said nothing, though, and just pulled Naruto's pants back into place, doing them up and then buckling his belt. Standing on his own shaky legs—Naruto's ministrations hadn't worn off yet—he did the same himself, getting his clothes back on properly, and then shoving his hands in his pockets.

"That was fun," Naruto commented with a grin, both hands behind his head. "It ended too fast though. I think next time, we should try and hold back on the sexual acts."

Snorting, Sasuke turned to head towards the stairs, hearing the blond following behind him. "You're the one who threw me to the ground and had your way with me."

"Your own fault for getting hard while I was beating you up."

A brief wave of anger flashed across his mind before he forced it back, but he couldn't stop his right hand from closing into a fist. "Speaking of which, what the fuck was with the smack?"

"Huh? Oh, come on, don't tell me it hurt!"

Sasuke was halfway up the stairs by now, and he stopped to turn and glare at Naruto, the blond almost as tall as him still despite being a step lower. He could see the other's eyes searching his, and then a tanned hand reached out to lightly touch the area he'd smacked.

"Hey, I didn't mean to hit you that hard. Sorry if it hurt."

"It's fine." Sasuke smacked his hand away, feeling a little foolish now. It hadn't hurt _that_ much, he supposed it was more the fact that Naruto had done it that had shocked him. Maybe the blond was used to roughhousing so little things like yanking his arm up his back and hitting someone across the face wasn't a big deal.

His mind flashed back briefly to the brunet Naruto had been wrestling with in the snow. They'd been pretty rough with one another, and it made his mind instantly picture them both in the bedroom, wrestling around on the bed, naked, both of them sporting bruises and bite marks before—

He cut the thought off abruptly, feeling a hollow ache in his chest. He didn't know why he was making himself picture something that was obviously going to cause him discomfort—he would never admit that tightening in his chest had been pain. It wasn't like Naruto was his or anything, anyway, so—why did it even matter what he did with the brunet?

Though really, he felt like, given how they were behaving, Naruto should've known better. He hoped he did, anyway, and that the blond idiot wasn't off having sex while Sasuke was sitting there all impatient and somewhat eager for his own turn, though he'd never admit it.

Especially not to Naruto.

"I always kind of took you for a rough kind of guy," Naruto admitted, both of them having reached the landing and Sasuke picking up his Coke can from the hall table. He took a large swallow and as he lowered it, Naruto's hand snatched it out of his grip, the blond taking his own sip, smacking his lips loudly.

"You never offered me a drink."

"You never asked for one. You were too interested in our game," Sasuke reminded him with a small smirk, stealing his drink back and taking another sip, leading the way into his room.

"This is true." The blond bounded in after him and fell onto the bed, letting out a groan and pretending to snore. Sasuke could understand how he felt. It was still relatively early, and considering where his mind had gone the night before, he hadn't really slept all that much. It was weird how attached he'd gotten to someone he barely even knew.

Even weirder how _far_ he'd gotten with someone he barely even knew.

"So, genius, what do you want to do now?" Sasuke fell down in his desk chair, eyes surveying the other's backside. He had to admit, Naruto had a nice ass. It was probably due to all the working out the guy did.

"Sleep." The blond rolled over, throwing Sasuke a saucy smirk. "With you."

Rolling his eyes, the raven stood up and moved across the room to his PlayStation, pulling a few of his games out and trying to decide which one he felt Naruto would prefer. He didn't have very many multi-player games—Shikamaru was virtually his only friend, and the other tended to watch more than he played, since playing was "far too troublesome"—so it made it hard to choose something.

He had _Rock Band _back in Toronto, but a fat lot of good that would do him right now. He supposed he could let Naruto play and just watch. Shrugging, he put _Bioshock_ in and picked up the controller. The second the game started, Naruto was at his side so fast Sasuke actually started. The blond's cheek was almost touching his own, the other's chin barely an inch above Sasuke's shoulder.

"Is that _Bioshock_?" His blue eyes were wide.

Smirking, Sasuke figured he'd chosen the right game, and despite the fact that he was probably going to get bored watching Naruto play after a while, he handed him the controller. Naruto settled himself in instantly, sitting cross-legged beside Sasuke with his shoulders hunched and his face set. The raven just leaned back against his elbows, eyes on the screen.

Naruto had almost finished getting through the beginning part when the front door slammed open and Fugaku's angry voice assaulted their ears. Sasuke noticed the blond pause the game, both of them listening to the older man bellowing at the top of his lungs.

Only one thing ever made Fugaku that mad, and Sasuke winced, getting slowly to his feet. He motioned for Naruto to stay where he was and then moved out into the corridor, closing his bedroom door behind himself. Itachi was hurrying up the stairs, obviously having suffered enough during the drive home, and slammed into his room, his music blaring loudly a second later.

Sasuke only braved descending two or three steps before stopping, watching his father rage around the living room, a newspaper in his hand, and a phone in the other. He pitied the person Fugaku was speaking to. They were not only going to be deaf, but would probably end up fired by the end of the phonecall.

"Sasuke."

He turned to look at the foot of the stairs, where his mother was motioning for him to go back to his room. He made a face, glanced at his father again, then walked backwards up the stairs. When he turned to head back to his room, he heard his father yell a few profanities, and then the word "Shanghai," which explained a lot.

Opening his bedroom door, he entered his room again, then closed it behind himself. Naruto hadn't restarted the game. He was sitting in front of the television, looking uncomfortable. Sasuke couldn't blame him.

"Should I go?"

Normally, Sasuke would have said yes, but he honestly didn't want the other to leave, especially not since he wanted to hang out with him for the rest of the day. He didn't have a guarantee Naruto would invite him over if he decided to go home.

"No, it's okay. I'm sorry if you're uncomfortable." Sasuke sat down beside him again, eyes on the screen, but Naruto still didn't unpause it. When he looked over, the blond was still staring at him.

"This is a stupid question, but is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's just—my dad being himself." Sasuke scoffed slightly. "Being from Canada, I'm sure you know what my parents do?"

"I don't live under a rock, you know." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Almost all my electronics are from Uchiha Corps. Your dad owns one of the largest electronic companies in the world."

"That would be the current problem," Sasuke said sigh a sigh, raking a hand through his hair. He realized then that his hair had somewhat deflated, and figured it had happened during his and Naruto's activities. He didn't dwell on it. "My dad's trying to branch out, you know, make his company larger by means of expanding the product or whatever. He keeps trying to negotiate with all these companies all over the place, but lately he keeps getting bought out, and it's driving him a little crazy. I think he just lost some kind of business deal in Shanghai."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Naruto said, shifting slightly.

"I'm sorry you need to be here while he's having one of his fits," Sasuke retorted with a snort.

"It's funny, isn't it?" the blond asked with a smile, obviously trying to lighten the mood. "How adults can throw temper tantrums, even though they always berate us when we're younger for throwing our own."

"I suppose." The raven smirked and snatched the remote out of Naruto's hands. The blond's mouth opened, about to protest, but Sasuke just leaned over and kissed him. When he pulled away, it seemed Naruto had forgotten what he was about to say. "If you're not going to play, I will."

"Bastard."

"Just the way you like me," Sasuke shot back with a smirk, continuing on where Naruto had left off. "Oh, also, you're staying for dinner."

"Sounds good. But just so your mom knows, I don't think anything can top what I had for lunch."

It took a few seconds for the words to sink in, but when they did, Sasuke shot Naruto a filthy glare, and ignored the way the blond's eyes had locked onto his crotch.

* * *

"Thank you very much for dinner, Mrs. Uchiha, it was delicious," Naruto said politely as the woman moved around the table to collect their plates.

"You're so welcome, sweetie. I'm glad you liked it." She smiled brilliantly at him and then moved towards the kitchen, calling back that she'd need help with dessert. Itachi was out of his seat before anyone had time to blink. Sasuke couldn't blame him.

Though Fugaku had calmed down considerably since that afternoon, he was still in a foul mood and had spent the entire dinner trying to take his anger out on the china, grumbling angrily under his breath and virtually ignoring everything that was going on around him. That had somewhat dampened the mood of the dinner, but Mikoto had done her best to keep things lively, with a lot of help from Naruto.

Sasuke could tell Itachi was amused by the blond, but that had quickly disappeared when—as Sasuke later found out—Naruto had been playing footsies with him under the table, having missed Sasuke. He supposed the blond realized his mistake when Sasuke didn't play back, because the second his foot found the right Uchiha's, the raven definitely played back.

"I hope you like apple pie," Mikoto said while exiting the kitchen, a plate in each hand. They both had a large piece of pie on them, as well as a dollop of ice cream. She placed one down in front of Naruto, whispering to him slightly, though it was still loud enough for Sasuke to hear. "It's Fugaku's favourite. He usually calms down considerably once coffee comes after having apple pie."

"It's good that you know these secrets, I'd hate to think he'd still be this angry when you both went to bed." He flashed Mikoto a brilliant grin and she flushed.

Sasuke kicked him under the table, the blond making a face, but saying nothing. When he glanced at the raven, he gave him an annoyed look and mouthed, "That's my mum!"

Naruto didn't seem too concerned, and actually spent most of dessert trying to piss Sasuke off by continuing to make comments one normally wouldn't make to a married woman in front of her family. And it wasn't the fact that he was almost flirting, it was that he continued to imply Sasuke's parents still had sex, which was highly disturbing for both Sasuke and Itachi to think about.

By the time coffee came around, and the three boys were excused, Naruto had made another comment on how much happier Fugaku looked, which would probably lead to even happier times later. When they reached the stairs, Itachi punched Naruto before Sasuke had the chance to.

"I only put up with you because my brother likes you," Itachi informed the blond when they reached the top of the stairs. "You would do well to remember that. Until you have something of value to offer me, I will have no problems trying to sabotage whatever kind of relationship you and Sasuke have."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto's face scrunched up in an odd half-pouting and half-defiant way. "'Whatever kind of relationship you have.' What's that supposed to mean?"

Itachi blinked at him, then looked at Sasuke. "Good luck with this one."

"He's not as dumb as he pretends to be," the younger Uchiha muttered, crossing his arms and watching Itachi return to his room. He then led the way into his own, Naruto closing the door behind himself, and then falling onto the raven's bed again. He rolled over this time, watching Sasuke move about his room, the raven picking up various things that had gotten tossed around earlier while he and Naruto had been wrestling for the controller.

"Do you and Itachi talk a lot?"

"Hm?" Sasuke asked, cocking an eyebrow and continuing to tidy up.

"I don't have any siblings. I sometimes wonder what it'd be like to have one. I mean, in our current situation, I just talk to my mom. She's almost like a teenager, it's so easy for her to get down to my level and relate with me. I'm just wondering though if you and Itachi talk about this."

Sasuke felt a small pang of guilt when he realized Naruto was talking about him to his family, and he was barely even mentioning the blond to his own other than to ask if he was allowed to stay for dinner.

"No," he whispered, his back still to the blond. "I don't really—I'm not very open about these sorts of things. Or about anything, really, to be honest."

"Oh."

He chanced a glance at the blond, but he was just looking leisurely around the room. He didn't appear concerned with this answer at all, almost as if he'd expected it. It was weird how well the other knew him.

"While we're on the topic," Sasuke threw a random shirt into the corner and fell down heavily into his chair, "what exactly _should_ I be saying about you?"

"What do you mean?"

Sasuke shrugged. He was mostly curious at this point, considering their lack of genuine knowledge about one another, but he was definitely attached to the blond. Whatever the other's answer though, he didn't think much would change between them.

"What are we? I mean, I'd call us fuck-buddies, but there isn't so much fucking as there is sucking in our relationship." He smirked slightly, Naruto grinning in response. "And we hang out a lot, like friends would, so I know for certain we're at least in the friend zone."

"How perceptive of you," Naruto teased, getting more comfortable on the bed, sitting with his legs crossed Indian-style, his elbows on his knees, and his face between his hands. "I don't really know. I definitely feel strongly about you, and I'll admit I've never been quite this bold before, in terms of our," he cleared his throat, then grinned, "sucking."

"You mean you don't make it a habit to walk into people's bathrooms while they're showering?" Sasuke teased.

The blond barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "It's not something I do on a regular basis, no, though for you, I'd be willing to make an exception."

Sasuke just smirked in response, but didn't say anything else.

They sat staring at one another for a long while, both seemingly waiting for the other to say something, but they didn't. Sasuke was trusting Naruto's inability to keep his mouth shut to come to his rescue, and he was glad when it came true.

"What would you like us to be?"

"I'm fairly certain I asked you first," Sasuke retorted, unwilling to let Naruto weasel out of answering. If the blond had wanted him to answer first, he should have been faster.

Letting out a sigh, Naruto raked one hand through his hair and let himself fall back onto the large bed, blue eyes gazing up at the ceiling and one hand coming up to play with the corner of one of Sasuke's pillows. The raven himself decided to pass the time by staring at the room across the street, realizing only after he'd turned to do so that the object of his stares was lying on his covers behind him. He felt stupid, so instead shifted his gaze to the road, which was slowly becoming coated with a layer of snow. He could foresee another driveway-shovelling in his near future. Probably early, too, considering his family's shopping spree had been cut short due to Fugaku's rage.

"Well, why don't we try it?"

Brought out of his thoughts about snowy driveways, Sasuke turned to blink at Naruto, somewhat confused by his question. The blond was sitting up again.

"Try what?"

"Being together. I know we haven't known each other that long, but I feel like it's safe to say we're reasonably attracted to one another, and not just for physical reasons." The blond shrugged. "We don't live that far apart in Canada, so why not just give it a try? Let's see how things go for us until it's time to head home, and then work from there. Sound good?" He flashed the raven one of his brilliant grins.

Sasuke snorted, but a smile spread across his face anyway. He turned back to look out the window. "Idiot."

"I'll take that as a yes. I get to run around screaming that you're my boyfriend now. I hope you're ready for the title."

Rolling his eyes, he turned back to look at Naruto, the blond looking particularly pleased with himself for having Sasuke as a boyfriend. If not that, then of having given Sasuke a title, at least. The Uchiha snorted at the thought, shaking his head.

"Moron."

"You know, if I didn't know you fancied me, I'd be worried your insults were—" he let out a fake-gasp, then leaned closer to Sasuke to whisper, "rejection."

"Goodness, no!" Sasuke said with fake-shock, then rolled his eyes.

"You know, it's kinda funny." Naruto cocked his head to one side. "Ever since we've started hanging out, more and more it seems that stick shoved up your ass is slowly getting pulled out. Eventually, it might even be gone."

Sasuke snorted. "We both know you're waiting for it to disappear so you can replace it with your own stick."

"Hardly the point, but I suppose that's valid."

"My mom said you can spend the night, by the way." Sasuke was making his chair swing from side to side, one foot on the floor helping to stop him from doing a full rotation. "If you want."

"Sounds good." Naruto grinned. "Wouldn't want to have to trudge back across the street in that cold snow. It's so far!"

Snorting at the horrified expression on the other's face, his eyes shifted to the blond's pocket when his phone vibrated loudly. Naruto pulled it out, checked who it was, and then put it away. It was the fourth time he'd done that. While they'd been playing their video game, it had gone off a few times, and Naruto had ignored it once he'd looked to see who was calling. Sasuke doubted it was his mother, but he wasn't entirely sure who it could be.

A part of him wondered if it was the boss' son, and Naruto _had_ been telling the truth. And not wanting to get dragged out for another night of partying, he was just ignoring the calls. He supposed it was possible, and though his tongue burned with want to ask about it, he forced himself to remain silent.

"We should go clubbing," Naruto said suddenly, waggling his eyebrows at Sasuke. "Let's see how much more information I can get out of you while you're wasted."

Snorting, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Moron, if you have questions, just ask them." He paused. "Later."

Naruto's mouth had been open, but he closed it with a small pout at the raven's words. Then he huffed and turned his back on Sasuke, crossing his arms and hunching his shoulders. A smirk played at the edges of the Uchiha's lips.

"Well, we can't very well start making out the second we turn off the lights. We're going to have to wait for Itachi to fall asleep, at least, and while we're waiting, we can talk."

"Who talks when the lights are off and you're lying in a bed together?" Even with his back still to him, Sasuke could hear the grin in the other's voice.

He had to wonder if Naruto was always like this. He'd never met anyone this horny in his life. Was it just how Naruto was, or was Sasuke just that much of a stimulant for the other's sex drive? He snorted at the thought, then used his feet to roll his chair across the room to his console. Picking up the controller, he turned on his television and picked the game up where they'd left off before dinner.

Naruto was sitting beside him on the floor a few seconds later.

* * *

"You gotta admit, your mom made a valiant effort. She failed miserably, but she damn well tried," Naruto said with a slight chuckle, his arms wrapped around Sasuke's waist while pressing his front against the other's back. The raven just snorted.

"She doesn't class me in the same league as my brother. She still thinks I'm pure. I guess she was worried that us sleeping in the same bed would lead to more—_impure_ activities."

When Naruto and Sasuke had gone downstairs to grab a snack around eleven, they'd returned to the Uchiha's room to find a cot on the floor, complete with sheets, a pillow and a comforter, all turned down and ready to be used by Naruto. As much as Sasuke wished he could give his mother peace of mind, he knew the second he saw it that there was no way it was going to happen. And it wasn't like they hadn't slept in the same bed before, anyway. Yes, they'd been drunk, but that was even worse.

She should have set out a cot on _that_ day. They were more likely to do something stupid while inebriated.

Not that sex with Naruto was stupid, it was just—something Sasuke felt he should be conscious for. The blond had an ego, he didn't want to hurt it _too_ much.

"Poor thing. I guess it's good that she didn't catch us in the shower then. Your poor reputation." He could hear the grin in the blond's voice, and resisted the urge to smack him. Of course, _Naruto_ would find it funny they'd almost been caught. He was sure the blond wouldn't feel quite so jovial about the whole situation if it had been _his_ mother who'd almost caught them.

Then again, the eccentric woman had already proved to be a lot like her son. For all Sasuke knew, she'd have asked if they wanted her to provide them with a video copy.

"I'm pretty sure if she had, you would've been considered Satan spawn. No way to charm yourself out of that." Sasuke smirked slightly, Naruto chuckling behind him. The heat off the other's skin was beginning to make him hot, but he didn't complain. He enjoyed having his own living heater.

"I'd have gotten back into her good graces somehow. And if not, well... there's always that unlocked window downstairs."

Sasuke snorted again, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Naruto was the only person he'd ever met who would commit some kind of felony in order to suck someone's cock. And based on their earlier conversation, not just _any_ cock would do for the great Naruto Uzumaki. Oh no! It had to be prime Uchiha-cock. Naruto was picky that way, apparently.

While lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the sound of something vibrating, and turned his head when Naruto's warmth left him briefly. The blond let out a curse, and Sasuke listened to him text a reply before throwing his phone on the floor.

"Feel free to step on my phone in the morning," he grumbled, getting comfortable against Sasuke's back once more.

The raven frowned. "Unpleasant news?"

"No, just—annoying interruptions."

"Hn."

Sasuke didn't know what else to say, so he chose to keep his mouth shut, his thoughts unconsciously returning to the blond and his friend wrestling in the snow. It was a thought that often forced itself back into his head, despite how often he tried to repel it.

"You know, I still don't get you," Naruto suddenly said, his lips brushing against the back of Sasuke's neck. The Uchiha shivered.

"Get me?"

"Yeah. I mean—I think you were lying. Back when we were drunk."

Groaning internally, Sasuke hoped this conversation wasn't going where he thought it was, but apparently, he'd gotten enough favours from God because he refused to grant Sasuke's current one of dropping the subject. Naruto just plowed on as if not realizing the raven was uncomfortable.

"Have you even _looked_ at yourself in a mirror? And even if you have, which I _know_ you do cause God knows you spent however long getting that duck-butt to stick up," Sasuke ignored the smirk he could hear in the other's voice, "I still—don't get it. I mean, on the one hand, the fact that you think you're somewhat unattractive is laughable because if you were any sexier, I'm pretty sure you'd be illegal."

Sasuke snorted at that.

"But on the other hand, even if you _were_ ugly—which you're not, thank you very much—don't you feel that'd be a good thing? Ugly people have it easy, I feel, because looks come and go, but a personality is a life-long commitment. So even if you feel you're ugly, don't you feel better knowing that I think you're amazing for being yourself, and that the nice porcelain package you come in is just a bonus for me?"

"People will do just about anything for money, Naruto," Sasuke said bitterly. "Not that I'm saying you are."

"Hm, I guess I can understand that..." The blond trailed off and lapsed into silence for a few seconds, then seemed to regain his train of thought. "I guess I get you being all insecure about people being after you for your money and all that, but still. I can't understand how you can be so damn negative."

"It's not a big deal," the raven grumbled, wishing—not for the first time—that he didn't talk so much when he was drunk. He wished even more that Naruto would have forgotten about it but, no dice.

"Don't worry, princess." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, but the blond was saved from bodily harm by sucking lightly on his pulse. It distracted him momentarily. "I'll make sure to remind you I'm more interested in you than your money."

"As long as you don't rely on me to nourish you all the time, we're good." Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto barked out a laugh and returned to sucking on the Uchiha's pulse, the raven letting out low moans whenever his boyfriend hit a particularly sensitive spot.

Itachi started banging on the wall.


	6. The Text

**AN: Look at me being all nice and posting two at once -snort- Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Still K. Masashi's bitches. **

**(Wow, I'm in such a bad mood |D I'm sorry)  
**

* * *

Sasuke was sweating when consciousness clawed itself back to the surface of his mind. A part of him suspected it had been for that very reason he'd been forced to wake up, though he couldn't recall why he was so hot. His blanket had always provided him with just the right amount of warmth that the cold air outside didn't make him shiver at night, but it wasn't so thick that he would feel uncomfortably hot.

Shifting gingerly, he felt arms tighten around his middle instinctively at the movement, and he forced himself further into wakefulness. Blinking open bleary eyes, he caught sight of the sunlight streaming in through his window, and lifted one hand to rub his eyes.

A soft snore from behind him caused him to frown, trying to remember the previous night. When he finally clued in to the fact that Naruto had slept over, and was currently cuddling against him, it became very clear why he was so hot. He'd have to make a mental note to always have a window open when the other slept over—or vice versa.

He smirked at the thought, enjoying the warm sensation it sent from the roots of his hair to the tips of his toes—and not because Naruto was still heating him up—and shifted slightly. The blond's hold tightened and Sasuke almost snorted. He was so damn possessive.

Extricating himself from the other's grasp—with much difficulty, since he was trying not to wake him—the raven stretched, hearing a few joints pop, and moved towards the bathroom to relieve himself. The tile was cold under his bare feet, which made him hurry in his usual morning routine and rush back onto the plush carpeting of his bedroom.

Noticing it was well past noon, he moved towards the bed to wake Naruto when he stepped on something. Looking down, he saw it was the blond's phone and bent to pick it up. He was about to place it on the table beside his bed when he noticed there was a new message.

Sasuke wasn't one of those people who went around checking messages that didn't belong to him, but after the repeated ignored phonecalls, and the eventual reply to a text message, he couldn't help but feel curious. And truth be told, he didn't fully trust Naruto. It was a harsh truth, but it was the truth nevertheless. If there was one thing Sasuke hated, it was being lied to.

So, he clicked open the messages tab, and went to the sent folder first, to see what Naruto had texted back to—whoever the night before. Opening it, he scanned it quickly, his eyes darting up to regard the blond's sleeping form between every few words.

_To: Dogface; Fucking hell, I told you I was busy! I'll call you tomorrow! _

Biting the inside of his cheek, his eyebrows down in a frown, he exited the sent items and moved to the received. He was sure Naruto would notice it was open, which made things more difficult, but then he saw there was a "mark as unread" option near the top, kind of like in hotmail.

He deliberated for all of two seconds, his finger hovering over one of the buttons before finally pushing it down and reading the reply the blond had received sometime in the night.

_From: Dogface; Yeah, yeah, fucknut! Vas-y avec ton sex, connard! You better fuckin' call!_

Now just because he lived in Canada didn't mean that Sasuke understood French. Truth be told, he was terrible at it, so no matter how much his eyes burned while staring at the words, it still didn't change the fact that the only word he understood was the word "sex."

But what did that even _mean_? Realistically, it could mean any number of things. It could be someone asking Naruto to come by so they could have a quicky. It could mean someone was asking if Naruto had gotten into Sasuke's pants yet. Hell, it could mean someone asking Naruto how to have gay sex, for all he knew!

The point was, he didn't know, and as uncomfortable and suspicious as he was, he didn't want to start throwing blind accusations at Naruto again. Even if he didn't fully trust him, he was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt—for now.

Quickly marking the text as unread, he put the phone back on the floor, figuring it was the safest place to put it, and then left his room, shutting the door silently behind him. Inching along the corridor, he started down the stairs when a voice behind him made him jump almost a mile high.

"The dead have finally risen."

Turning, he glared angrily at Itachi, the older man moving around him with a cup of coffee in his hand. It was obviously the unfinished remains of his morning cup being brought to the kitchen for a reheat.

Reheated coffee. Ew. Sasuke couldn't do that, but Itachi didn't have a problem with it. Good for him.

"Mum and dad go out?" he inquired, following behind his brother.

"They went for a walk. Dad started clearing the driveway but got tired after two rows and decided we'd wait for you and the idiot to wake up."

Entering the kitchen, Sasuke jumped up on the counter, leaning back against one of the cupboards while watching Itachi move to the microwave and place his coffee inside, setting the timer and hitting the start button. Then, he leaned back against the counter across from Sasuke and crossed his arms.

"Why didn't someone come and wake me up? Not that I minded sleeping in for once," he added as an afterthought.

"Mum was going to. She got the door open enough to see the cot empty and I think she lost her nerve. After all, you and him sleeping together drunk wasn't something she had the misfortune of seeing." The hints of a smile teased the corners of his brother's lips, and Sasuke tried to ignore the flush fighting its way up the back of his neck.

"I got cold," he lied, embarrassed. "He's like a walking heater."

"I fail to see why you're trying to lie to me, little brother." The microwave dinged and he reached into it to retrieve his coffee. "In case you don't recall, I was the one banging on my wall last night."

"Yeah, that was rude," Sasuke informed him, a smirk playing at his own lips now.

"No, you and blondie having no respect for me in the neighbouring room. _That's _rude." Itachi took a sip of his coffee and Sasuke snorted.

"You're just jealous because you're not getting any. Deidara not coming through for you anymore?"

It was a small satisfaction, seeing his brother choke slightly on his coffee, but one he knew he was going to regret in the near future. Itachi always found ways to make him regret breathing the same oxygen as him, one way or another.

"I'm looking for a little bit more of a challenge." There was an edge to his brother's voice that hadn't been there a second ago, and Sasuke knew he'd struck a nerve. Sex was a dangerous topic with Itachi, especially when Sasuke was presumably getting some while he wasn't.

"I'm sure Naruto has some friends you can break in." Sasuke crossed his arms, his eyes following the other's cup as it rose to his mouth again. He was debating getting his own cup, not entirely sure if he felt like having coffee this late in the afternoon was a good idea or not.

"I highly doubt your little plaything will have anything of interest for me."

"You know, that's a little uncalled for."

Sasuke prided himself for not being easily startled by anyone other than Itachi, but Naruto could give his brother a run for his money. He hadn't even heard the blond come down the stairs, and based on the drops of coffee on Itachi's hand, neither had he. They both recovered quickly, though, to the point where Sasuke was certain Naruto wouldn't have noticed he'd surprised them.

"And what might that be?" Itachi inquired, shifting his cup into his other hand and putting his free one in his pocket. Sasuke knew he was subtly removing the drops of coffee, and had to smirk.

"Calling me a plaything. _Clearly_ Sasuke is the plaything in our relationship." The blond turned to grin at the other, who rolled his eyes. "I mean, if _I_ were a master, I'd ensure I came downstairs dressed and proper-looking while my _plaything_ would come down half-naked."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched as he turned his head to slowly regard the other. Naruto had gotten dressed again before exiting the room, whereas Sasuke had merely come down in his sweat-pants, like he always did. If he'd had the energy, he would have smacked the blond upside the head.

"Moron."

"Good morning to you, too, plaything."

The Uchiha resisted the urge to roll his eyes again, but it was hard.

"And what did I hear about breaking in playthings, anyway?"

Glad to have the focus back on his brother, Sasuke wasted no time in informing Naruto of the older man's type. Smirking while he did so, he noticed his brother's jaw clenching, but no other visible changes occurred to show his displeasure.

Sasuke knew he was going to pay for _that_, too. But oh, would it be worth it if it meant Naruto trying to hook his brother up with one of his crazy friends.

"You know, you're both pretty similar considering," Naruto said thoughtfully, a frown on his face. Then, he grinned wickedly, turning to look at Sasuke. "Is he a bottom, too?"

This time, Sasuke saw Itachi didn't bother to hide the smirk. He let it slowly spread across his face before taking another sip of his coffee, clearly amused by the murderous look in his younger brother's eyes. Sasuke, himself, turned slowly to glare angrily at Naruto, but the blond idiot just continued to grin at him, as if already knowing he would be forgiven.

"Moron." He _did_ smack him across the head this time, jumping down from the counter and heading back for the stairs to get some clothes on. He was getting cold without his heater pressed up against him.

He half-expected Naruto to follow, but knew it was a lost cause when Itachi asked if he was hungry. If there was one thing he'd learned about Naruto since meeting him, it was that apart from Sasuke, he was obsessed with food.

When he reached his room again, he noticed the phone on the floor was gone. It made him wonder what Naruto had replied while sitting alone in Sasuke's room. Had he promised to go over for a quick fuck later? Had he assured the other person that he was going to get into Sasuke's pants soon? Or was Sasuke just completely overreacting and being a douche?

Well, he knew he was being a bit of a mercurial ass, but he felt somewhat justified! Naruto was lying to him, at least in some fashion! And until the other came clean, Sasuke was going to continue having stupid thoughts pertaining to what the other was doing when he wasn't looking!

Growling angrily, he grabbed a pair of pants, removing his sweats and yanked them on, doing them up while moving to his dresser. He searched for a long-sleeved shirt and finally found one, pulling it on and then grabbing a pair of socks.

By the time he got back downstairs, Naruto was already in the process of wolfing down some eggs and bacon, which Sasuke could only assume Itachi had prepared for him. He found another plate sitting on the table when he neared it, and called a thanks into the kitchen, taking his seat and beginning to eat in a slightly more dignified way.

"So what do you want to do today?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of toast.

The question caught Sasuke a little off-guard. He'd been anticipating Naruto trying to find an excuse _not_ to hang out with him today, but apparently that wasn't the case. It only furthered Sasuke's confusion and he wondered if maybe he should just let the whole thing slide. Maybe the wrestling in the snow was nothing. Maybe the sleeping over was nothing. Maybe the French text message was nothing. Maybe Sasuke was just insanely paranoid.

It quickly became clear he hadn't answered Naruto's question and he hastened to do so, pretending to be fascinated by the food on his plate as a means to explain his delay. "I don't mind. We hung out here yesterday. We can go to your house today, if you want."

"Sounds good. I'm sure I can convince my parents to leave for a few hours."

When he glanced up, onyx locked with sapphire, and he could feel the other's grin before his eyes found his lips. He had to snort. It was snort or punch the idiot, and snorting would attract less attention from the eavesdropper in the kitchen.

"Why, are we going to play another game?" He smirked.

"Mm, maybe. Our game yesterday was cut off pretty quick. We both got distracted far too easily. We should work on that. Practice makes perfect, after all." Grinning like the idiot he was, Naruto lifted another forkful of food to his mouth.

"I have to shovel the walk first," Sasuke informed him, his annoyance clear in his tone. He figured he should just do it before his parents got home and asked him to do it, anyway. At least doing it before they had to ask would put him in their good books for a while. He might even be able to con another sleepover out of his mother. After seeing him and Naruto sharing the bed—despite how old he was, his mother still saw him as her little boy—he was sure she'd at least be more hesitant to approve. She'd never say no, not to him, but he knew she would probably lie awake at night wondering what evil things the charmer Naruto was doing to her little boy.

Oh, if only she knew! The dumbass was good!

"I probably do, too." Naruto turned to glance out the kitchen window. "Not that my parents ask me, since I don't mind doing it, but I'm sure they'd notice if I let it slide for once. Besides, it'd be harder to convince them to get out of the house."

Snorting, Sasuke kicked him lightly under the table and finished his breakfast, taking both his and Naruto's dishes to the kitchen, then reemerging and motioning the front door. "Let's not keep our parents waiting, shall we?"

"Heaven forbid." Naruto bounded towards the door with him, grabbing his coat and pulling it on, then hunting around for his shoes.

Sasuke got his own coat and shoes on without a word, then led the way to the garage. Naruto followed behind him, hopping on one foot while attempting to get one of his shoes on. They both cringed when the large door lumbered upwards and the cold air bit into their exposed skin. Sighing, Sasuke grabbed the shovel, moving out after Naruto while the blond trudged through the snow towards the end of the driveway. He paused at the street, turning to grin at Sasuke.

"I'll race you."

Cocking an eyebrow, the Uchiha snorted. "You'll finish first, I usually have hired help shovel the walk."

"Oh, yes." Naruto's face turned into a mask of fake-horror, one arm coming up to place the back of his hand dramatically to his forehead. "Curse my peasantry! Curse it to the fiery pits of hell!"

"Always so dramatic." Sasuke snorted, kicking at the powdery snow and sending a puff of it in Naruto's direction.

"How about this, then," Naruto began with a wicked smirk. Sasuke already didn't like where this was going. "I'll let you get a ten minute head start, and whoever finishes first gets to choose the scenario we'll play once I convince my parents to leave the house."

"And who says I even _want_ to play?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, leaning against his shovel. Not to say he _didn't_ want to play, but Naruto had to stop assuming he knew him so well.

Shrugging, the blond just grinned at him mysteriously and flew across the street. Snorting, Sasuke began working, knowing that even with the ten-minute head start, Naruto was still probably going to win.

Which was fine by him, really. He didn't have much of an imagination.

* * *

Sasuke was in the process of hanging the shovel back up in the garage when his parents showed up, walking up the cleared driveway and making snide remarks about him finally being out of bed. He noticed his mother glance across the street, where Naruto was in the process of ushering his parents out of the house, but she didn't say anything.

"So what are your plans for today, honey?" She asked, pausing at the door that led into the house. Fugaku was already inside.

"Just going to hang out with Naruto again. There isn't really much else to do."

"I suppose." Her eyes flickered upwards and Sasuke turned, seeing the blond bounding across the street. He looked particularly pleased with himself, and the Uchiha had to wonder if it was because he'd won their little race, or because he'd managed to get his parents out of the house.

"Morning, Mrs. Uchiha. Or, afternoon, I should say." He flashed her a brilliant smile and Sasuke could practically _see_ his mother's wary walls crumbling. She returned his smile and greeting before inviting him into the house for some hot chocolate.

Naruto was ecstatic and they both disappeared inside without even bothering to remember Sasuke exited. The raven scowled, finding Naruto's charm a little too powerful, but tried not to dwell on it as he followed them half a beat later into the house.

He'd barely gotten his coat off when the phone rang and Itachi appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"It's for you. It's Bambi."

"Bambi?" Naruto grinned from the living room, Fugaku scowling at the newspaper while Mikoto worked on their hot chocolate in the kitchen.

Sasuke said nothing, but was thankful for Itachi's comment. It was something he would be able to use to his advantage later.

Choosing to take the call upstairs, he called out when he'd picked up the line and heard Itachi hang up. Shikamaru's lazy voice spoke a second later.

"_Way to shatter my eardrums, Uchiha. And here I was worried you didn't like me."_

Snorting, Sasuke fell onto his bed and stared up at his ceiling, counting the cracks visible in the old paint. He'd have to tell his parents it was time for a paintjob.

"What can I help you with now, Shikamaru?"

"_Why, do I have a limit? Are you going to cut me off soon?"_

"Maybe." A smirk played at the Uchiha's lips. "I have company."

"_Ah. The sexy neighbour?" _

"I never said he was sexy." Sasuke frowned.

"_I'm not called a genius just for kicks, Sasuke."_ He heard his friend sigh on the other end. _"You called him attractive and then proceeded to start describing all of his muscles. If that isn't a hint that you find him sexy, then I'm a leprechaun." _

"You _are_ pretty good at mimicking the Irish accent."

Sasuke expected Shikamaru to sigh and call him troublesome. Instead, the other boy hung up. Unable to help himself, the Uchiha burst out laughing, finding his friend's overreaction to have been somewhat of a surprise. He supposed he shouldn't be such a jerk, considering his friend had probably gotten pissed off due to the comparison.

Shikamaru was half-Scottish, and if there was one thing worse than calling a Canadian an American, it was calling a Scot and Irishman.

Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he texted a half-sincere apology—only half-sincere because he was still laughing while typing it out—and then sent it to Shikamaru. He knew the other wouldn't hold it against him for long. Being mad was too troublesome.

Though now he was going to be stuck wondering what Shikamaru was annoyed about. He only ever called to complain about something or another, and if it wasn't about the suit he had to wear at Christmas, then Sasuke was now insanely curious as to what could have bothered him so much he'd made another long-distance call to his friend in England.

Sighing, he resigned himself to his fate of not knowing until the other called back, and headed downstairs. His hot chocolate was sitting on the counter in the kitchen, everyone else out in the living room chatting. He could hear Naruto recounting some kind of crazy tale about a friend's yacht and the south of France, but didn't really pay too much attention to it.

When he joined them, they'd all fallen silent again, his mother sipping on her own cup of hot chocolate while Itachi nursed another cup of coffee. Or maybe it was even the same one, who knew?

"Are you still planning on going out shopping today?" the raven inquired, sipping the hot drink and almost choking on a marshmallow. He made a mental note to remember his mother still thought he was a little boy.

"As soon as I'm done." Mikoto smiled at him. "Itachi, will you be coming?"

"I suppose. I don't relish the thought of being home with these two playing cops and robbers."

Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke's cryptic breakfast conversation hadn't gone undeciphered. Itachi appeared to know what they were planning on doing, and it made Sasuke a little unhappy with how perceptive his stupid brother could be.

"Oh, we're gonna go play video games at my house." Naruto beamed. "So you don't need to worry about us being loud."

A smirk threatened to break out across Itachi's face, and Sasuke _knew_ the bastard was pleased with how uncomfortable he'd just gotten. He threw him the filthiest glare he had in his arsenal and took another large swallow of his drink, ignoring the way it burned down his throat.

"In that case, I'd rather remain home. I'll provide you with the list of items I'd like you to buy for me. I'll be sure to give dad the list with yours on it."

"Men." Mikoto rolled her eyes. "They never do their own shopping."

"I do my own shopping." Naruto piped up.

"You would," Sasuke whispered with a smirk. He felt rather than saw the blond's annoyance at the statement.

"I love shopping with my mom. She's crazy, it makes it more entertaining." Naruto straightened, a gleam in his eye, and Sasuke was suddenly very worried about where his crazy little mind had just gone. "Hey, my parents just went out shopping not five minutes ago. I'm sure if I called them, you could all meet up. The women could go shop while the men talk about sports or whatever it is people like my dad talk about." Naruto snickered.

Sasuke was sure he'd been about to comment on "old men" before remembering Fugaku was in the room, but he didn't think his father had caught on to that.

"Oh, that sounds lovely!" Mikoto exclaimed. "It would certainly be nice to shop with someone who's excited, for a change. What do you think?" She turned to Fugaku, who just grunted his ascent.

"Maybe you guys could even catch dinner or something. You and my mom work so hard all the time, you should take a break. I'm sure Sasuke, Itachi and I will find something to eat."

"You're making this sound more and more appealing, Naruto." Mikoto laughed, placing her half-finished cup on the coffee table. "Oh, I don't want to keep your parents waiting too long if they agree. Would you mind calling? I'll go get ready."

"Sure thing."

Beaming, the blond disappeared into the kitchen, pulling out his cell phone. Mikoto rushed up the stairs to get changed—which Sasuke didn't understand since she was already dressed. Women.

His father just grunted under his breath randomly every now and then, and Sasuke could only assume he was thinking about something. Probably still moping about the company in Shanghai. He and Itachi mostly ignored him.

Catching his brother's eye, he felt a growl forcing its way up his throat at the amused expression he was met with. Apparently, Naruto's cunning hadn't gone unnoticed, not that he'd expected it to. Still, it annoyed him that Itachi was finding the entire situation funny.

It was times like this where Sasuke really wished Itachi had someone he was interested in, because it was easier to get his brother to leave him alone when he had the threat of being teased right back shoved in his face.

Naruto reemerged from the kitchen a while later, falling back on the couch beside Sasuke and finishing off his hot chocolate, licking his lips and cradling the cup in his hands. Mikoto took slightly longer to return, and when she finally did, Naruto told her where his parents were and gave her his mother's cell phone number so they could find one another more easily.

Practically dragging Fugaku from the house, the two of them were gone less than a minute later, the garage door closing in their wake. All three boys were silent until they were sure the car was long gone.

Then, Itachi let out a small laugh. "You're good, Uzumaki. For a plaything, you're quite impressive."

"I already told you, _Sasuke_ is the plaything," Naruto replied, but the grin on his face showed he was much too pleased with himself to let the tease bother him.

"Well, if you'll both excuse me, I'll be retiring to my room to work on a few things. If you'd be so kind as to follow through with your promise, and leave the house, I would appreciate it."

"Yes sir." Naruto grinned. "Oh and uh, don't wait on us for dinner. I have other ideas."

Sasuke would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little concerned.

* * *

It was strange finally setting foot into Naruto's room. He'd been looking into it for so long from across the street, he'd actually almost forgotten he'd never been in it. Not that there was much change from looking in through the window.

There weren't any posters in the room, and the blond explained that because he only came every Christmas, and it was rented out the rest of the year, he didn't bother putting any up since he'd have to take them down. The punching bag in the corner of the room usually disappeared into the basement when he left, and anything else that was present usually went home with him.

Sasuke looked around the room slowly, and frowned when he finally realized Naruto didn't have a television in his room. Turning to the blond, he asked him where his console was, since he often spoke of playing video games, and had even told his mother that's what they would be doing.

Grinning, Naruto put both hands behind his head. "Are you kidding me? My Xbox is at home, in the dorms. I just figured your mother would feel more comfortable if she thought we were doing something as innocent as playing video games."

Sasuke snorted and sat down on the blond's bed. He cocked an eyebrow and bounced slightly. "Your bed is really bouncy."

"I know! It's awesome!" Without warning, he leapt onto the bed right beside Sasuke, and the bounciness cause the raven to fly into the air, the Uchiha barely managing to land on his feet as he was propelled off the bed.

"Jesus! You have sex on that thing?!"

"No, but now that you mention it, it might be fun." Naruto waggled his eyebrows and then laughed, though he seemed to be thinking about something other than Sasuke's annoyed expression. "Oh my God, this morning! Your poor mother! You should have seen her face when she checked in on us at like, ten or something. I felt so bad."

A stab of fear flitted through Sasuke's mind at the mention of Naruto being awake, and he was momentarily terrified the other might have been conscious during Sasuke's moment of weakness with his phone. He convinced himself that couldn't be the case, as ten in the morning was very far from when they'd actually gotten up.

Forcing a smirk onto his face, Sasuke took a seat in Naruto's desk chair, idly noting he and the blond were seated in the same fashion as they had back at his house. "What happened?"

"Well, honestly, I think it was our state of undress that bothered her more than anything. She opened the door and I could just see that she'd noticed the cot was empty. It opened a fraction more and I guess it didn't look like you were wearing pants or something because she closed the door really quickly after that. When I glanced down, your left leg was sticking out from the covers, and I guess your pants must've rolled up cause it really _did_ look like you weren't wearing any pants." Naruto grinned. "Not to mention we were both topless, and I'm pretty sure Itachi banging on the wall didn't go unnoticed. She _does_ realize you're an adult, right?"

Snorting, Sasuke leaned back in the chair, wondering how his poor mother had survived _that_ heart attack. He had to wonder if her constant jokes about his sex life was her trying to come to terms with the fact that Sasuke _had_ one.

"I'm always gonna be her little boy," Sasuke said with a scowl, not pleased with himself for having shared embarrassing information like that, but feeling the need to explain.

Surprisingly, Naruto didn't laugh. "Yeah, it's weird. I know how you feel, sort of. It took a little while for my mom to realize I was an adult and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I guess it'd be a little different for you, probably. You have a brother, and all. I know one of my friends has an older sister, and his mom isn't _nearly_ as protective of her as she is of him."

It was so brief that Sasuke wondered if he'd imagined the panic that flashed through Naruto's eyes, but the way he tried to act completely natural right afterwards just proved that it had happened. And Sasuke was getting curious and jealous again, because obviously, Naruto hadn't meant to mention such a friend. Which only helped him move on to his earlier plan.

"Yeah, my friend Shikamaru's mom is a nazi, because he's an only child. She insists on meeting virtually everyone who comes into his life, even if it's only for a school project or something. Drives him insane." He tried to keep his voice even, and casual. "He's the one I was talking to on the phone. The one my brother calls Bambi." He snorted. "Stupid nickname, really, but it fits. You got any nicknames for your friends?"

Maybe not as subtle as he'd intended, but Naruto didn't look suspicious, or even concerned. Obviously he hadn't clued in to what Sasuke was doing, and if he didn't worry about nicknames, he obviously didn't seem to believe the raven had seen his text message.

"No, I usually call people by their real names once I get close enough to them. Though for you, I'll probably have to make an exception." He grinned. "You just make _such_ a good princess."

And there was another lie. Or so Sasuke felt it was a lie. Maybe the name in the phone wasn't a nickname, maybe it was just a way for Naruto to differentiate two people with the same name. Or even just how he liked to organize his phone. After all, Itachi had everyone in his phone listed by age.

The older Uchiha was weird that way.

"Hn." It was all Sasuke could think to say.

"So," Naruto said, clapping his hands together, "we need a new scenario, don't we?"

"I can't believe how lame you are." As interesting as he found it that the blond enjoyed their weird little role-playing game, it didn't make it any less weird for Sasuke. Especially since he knew every time they did it, there would be some kind of sexual act involved. He didn't need to be a mind-reader to know _that_.

"Hey, you had fun last time, so don't even." Naruto grinned, looking around his room. "Hm, how about you're trying to get as buff and sexy as me," he flexed his muscles and Sasuke resisted the urge to snort, "and I'm your very attractive and gay personal trainer?"

"You're seriously messed up."

It didn't stop Sasuke from standing up, though. He kicked off his shoes and pulled off his sweater, figuring he might actually work out during this game. After all, what the blond had said was true. Not five days ago, Sasuke had been admiring Naruto's firm chest and wished his own looked half as good.

"Hm, we need to make this more realistic."

The grin on the other's face definitely wasn't comforting, but he just let Naruto pass by him and rummage in his closet. He threw a pair of sweats to Sasuke a second later, followed by a black wife-beater. Since he was still rummaging around after having done so, the Uchiha shrugged and pulled off his jeans and shirt, replacing them with the clothes Naruto had thrown at him.

He glanced out the window self-consciously every now and then, half-wondering if Itachi would feel inclined to see what they were doing. He knew his brother wouldn't willingly spy on him if he thought Sasuke was being inappropriate because, really, they were _brothers_, but he also knew the other man was a very curious and self-centered. He always liked to know everything, even at the risk of finding out more than he really wanted to know.

Thankfully, the windows across the street were empty and lacked any such person. Itachi's curtains were even closed, and Sasuke was certain that his brother wouldn't bother to hide if he were truly spying on him. It made him wonder what Itachi was working on.

"Hey." He turned when Naruto spoke, and found the blond wearing similar clothing to his own, only his wife-beater was white. He was also wearing a hideous pair of orange sweatpants.

"What are _those_?"

"Hey, hey! Don't go dissing my style! These pants are awesome!" Naruto pouted.

"Yeah, they were, back in the eighties!"

"You're just jealous 'cause I can pull them off better than you." The blond stuck his tongue out and then moved over to his punching bag, standing behind it and holding it with both hands. "All right, Mr. Uchiha, time to get to work."

Snorting, Sasuke wondered if that was Naruto's cue to start their game, or if his words were already _part _of the game. Lord knew the raven could have gone on and on about the horrifying pants.

The excited, almost eager look in the blond's eyes made Sasuke roll his own and move towards the punching bag. Raising his fists, he slammed his right hand into it. The pain that action caused was not something he'd been anticipating. It wasn't like he was a wimp and was going to go crying home to mother or anything, but the way he always saw Naruto punching it, he'd assumed it wouldn't feel like punching a brick wall.

Oh, how wrong he was. Now his hand hurt, and if he let it show even the slightest bit, the blond idiot was going to laugh and tease him for the rest of the holidays.

"Hn," Sasuke said to no one in particular, and started punching the bag again, this time trying not to put all of his force into it. It hurt less to go easy on it, but it was obvious Naruto could tell. The blond was trying not to grin, if the way the corners of his lips twitched was any indication. It made Sasuke growl and hit the punching bag with more force, causing it to jerk back into the blond slightly.

"Something bothering you?"

"None of your business," Sasuke groused, using his right hand to punch at the bag since his left one was now incredibly angry with him.

"You don't seem as into this one as you were with our last. Are you worried it'll take too long for us to get to the good stuff?" Naruto grinned.

"I don't think about sex half as often as you do, Naruto," he insisted, dropping his hands since their game was obviously over. "I just thought you had some kind of plan. I don't really feel like standing here punching a bag all day."

"Well excuse me." Rolling his eyes, the blond moved out from behind the boxing equipment and headed for his door, motioning for Sasuke to follow.

Cocking an eyebrow, he did so, the two of them making their way downstairs and into the kitchen where Naruto turned to lean against the counter and crossed his arms. Sasuke didn't understand what he was meant to be cluing in to.

"What are we doing?"

"Well, you wanted something more concrete to do." Naruto glanced at the time. "I know we recently had breakfast, but why not start on dinner? You can make me something."

Sasuke tried to ignore the way the blond spoke, as if the Uchiha were his girlfriend who should be feeding his overly large appetite.

"Who says I know how to make anything?" Sasuke crossed his arms. "I have cooks at home, too, you know."

"Yeah, I figured, but you strike me as the type who'd at least know how to make food." Naruto grinned. "I know a lot of rich people, and if there's one thing they all have in common, it's that they know how to make food."

As much as he was annoyed with Naruto's accuracy, he was right. Sasuke _did_ know how to cook. Well, somewhat. He only knew how to make a few things, but they were all fairly complicated. He tried his best not to feel smug.

"Besides," Naruto continued, not having been privy to the other's thoughts, "your brother made us breakfast. I'm pretty sure if he can cook, so can you."

"Eggs and bacon aren't that hard to make." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Hey man, I know someone who can't even make toast or boil water without setting something on fire."(1)

"Hn."

The Uchiha moved further into the kitchen and started opening cupboards, trying to establish if Naruto had everything necessary for what Sasuke was planning on making. He reached the fridge and opened it, peering inside and finding that virtually everything he needed save for one or two of his favourite vegetables were present. And considering it would take close to two hours to make, this worked out well since they'd just eaten.

"Well? What's the verdict? We gonna cook or what?" Naruto was grinning again.

"Hn." Sasuke smiled this time. "Yeah, we're gonna cook. Well, more specifically _I'm_ going to cook, and _you're_ going to do all the chopping and cutting. If you're going to eat my food, you're going to work for it."

"Sounds fair." Naruto stretched and pushed away from the counter. "So what are we making, your highness?"

Snorting, Sasuke decided Naruto didn't deserve to know, after that comment. "You'll see when it's done. Take out all the vegetables and start cutting."

"But I don't like vegetables." The blond pouted.

"Well, you'll like them this time. I guarantee it." Sasuke grinned and went about finding a pot that would be big enough for what he was planning.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Naruto crinkled his nose from behind Sasuke, watching the raven as he worked. The Uchiha himself didn't answer, he merely continued what he was doing.

"I'm making it taste better."

"You're ruining it. It tasted fine before you decided to do this!" Naruto whined and started tugging lightly on the back of Sasuke's shirt.

"It'll taste better, stop being so impatient. You just want to eat right now, that's the only reason you're complaining so much."

Tilting the frying pan towards a bowl, Sasuke scraped out the chicken fried rice and then returned it to the flames, putting some more onto its hot metal surface and restarting the process. He had to smack at Naruto's hand more than once when the blond kept trying to eat the un-fried portion of the meal.

It really wasn't that different, whether it was fried or not. Both were edible, Sasuke just felt that if he was going to make chicken _fried_ rice, he was going to at least _fry_ it, or else it was just called chicken rice. Besides, Naruto could bitch and moan all he wanted, but he hadn't even bothered to try the fried portion of the rice yet, so Sasuke wished he'd either try it or shut up. He wasn't allowed to complain about it without even having _tried_ it.

"Come on, just let me have it the _normal_ way. You're ruining it!" Naruto whined for the millionth time.

Finally beginning to lose his temper, Sasuke thrust the bowl of fried rice into the blond's hands and stalked across the kitchen to find the cutlery, jabbing a fork into the bowl. "Try the damn rice before you complain my ears off," he snapped, annoyed.

Turning his back on Naruto, he returned to frying the rice in the pan, using the spatula to flip it over every now and then. When he was sure it was ready, he turned to grab another bowl, and by the time he'd turned back to the stove, the pan was empty. Cocking an eyebrow, he turned to regard his thief, who had just inched out of the kitchen with his bowl full again.

Snorting, and adding more rice to the pan, he wondered if he was going to be allowed to eat, as well. At least Naruto had stopped complaining, and if his new hobby of thievery was any indication, he liked the fried rice just as much, if not more, as the unfried rice. That was something, in Sasuke's opinion. He felt somewhat good about himself.

"So how long do you think they're going to be gone? It seems like they've been out for a while," Sasuke called out, managing to salvage the rice in the pan for himself this time. He added more, knowing Naruto probably wasn't anywhere near finished.

"I don't know." The blond's mouth was clearly full when he replied. "Knowing my mother, they'll be gone for a while longer. Hell, they've probably just sat down to eat dinner themselves. And seeing as how your mom and mine are probably getting along really well, they'll want to make this last as long as possible." He heard the other snort.

Sasuke shook his head, but couldn't help smiling slightly, taking a bite of his own food. He was glad his mother had someone to spend time with. He knew she got lonely every now and then, because Fugaku wasn't exactly the best company in the world, and really, he wasn't so much a friend. It was nice to know his mother might enjoy this holiday more than any others they'd had.

"I think having them spend the day together was a good idea," Sasuke informed the blond, still working on the rice in the pan. He smacked at Naruto's hand when the other tried to steal his bowl. "My mother doesn't really get to go out with others much. She spends most of her time fawning all over my brother and me."

"I'm glad, too. My mom was probably going to end up driving my dad bonkers." Naruto snickered. "In case you haven't noticed, they're kind of different."

"I noticed." Sasuke smirked, dumping the new batch of rice into Naruto's waiting bowl, which promptly disappeared. "Your father is a little calmer than I'd anticipated, given your similarities."

"Yeah," Naruto let out a small laugh, obviously having heard that before, "dad's great. But yeah, I look like him, but I act a lot more like my mother. My dad's pretty calm and focussed. My mom and I are both eccentric and crazy. I sometimes pity dad—for all of five minutes. Then I remember it's his fault for being so normal."

Naruto snickered and Sasuke had to smile slightly. The blond was so ridiculous, making fun of his father like that. Though it was still endearing. He spoke so lovingly of his family, it sometimes made Sasuke feel bad for not appreciating his own like he should.

"What are you thinking?" Sasuke's head jerked back, startled, when Naruto's forefinger appeared on his forehead, rubbing at the crease between his eyebrows.

"Nothing." He smacked the other's hand away, slightly irritated, and added more rice to the pan.

"Yeah, because the way your eyebrows turned down like that, that's just your normal expression, right?" The blond leaned against the counter beside Sasuke, surveying him. The raven did his best to ignore him. "How are you with your family? I mean, really?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I get along with my mother, and with Itachi."

"And your dad?"

He shrugged again. "He's busy. Works too hard. Doesn't really have time for anything else. He _is_ the head of a major corporation. Can't really blame him."

Naruto's snort caused Sasuke to look at him. The blond was stabbing at the rice in his bowl.

"My dad is number two at the company he works for, and he still makes an effort to know me. I find that parents who don't make an effort to know their kids are just scared that they'll disappoint them. You know, like maybe your dad is scared to get close to you because he thinks you'll find him boring, or scary, or you won't approve of what he does."

Sasuke snorted. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it really?" Naruto was staring at him intently again. "I don't know, I feel a lot of people are scared that way. Why try and make friendly when you're just worried about what the other person says when you're not around? Why try and get to know your kids if you think you'll just be a disappointment? Why bother telling someone you love them when you know they'll just end up hurting you in the end?" Naruto shrugged. "They're all risks we take or don't take, and the outcome of everything ends up being linked to which road we choose."

Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds, unsure of what to say, and then he just snorted and looked back at the pan.

"Stop being so smart, dumbass."

That effectively ended that conversation.

* * *

The two of them ended up watching a few movies for the rest of the night, Sasuke having to applaud Naruto's self-control since the other didn't try to jump him once. They'd kissed a few times during the movies, but never let it turn into a full-blown make-out session. It probably helped that the movies were too good to ignore for long.

Around ten-thirty, Naruto's parents finally came home, and Sasuke was somewhat worried to see the state of his own when he noticed Kushina was totally smashed, and Minato was a little redder in the face than usual. Bidding Naruto good night—and getting another mind-numbing kiss in the process—he hurried back across the street to find his parents in a similar state.

Itachi looked torn between being amused and being horrified, especially after Fugaku picked Mikoto up in his arms and carried her fireman-style to the bedroom. His brother suddenly had important matters to attend to elsewhere and disappeared from the house shortly thereafter. Sasuke half-wished he'd gone with him.

It was completely out of character for his parents to, not only drink, but come home inebriated, but he supposed it was a good thing. His father seemed a lot happier, and not quite as stressed as he usually looked. And despite not wanting to hear what was going on in their room, he was glad they'd had a good time with Naruto's parents.

Though he didn't rush to the nearest available coffee shop like Itachi, Sasuke didn't want to listen to his parents any more than his brother did, so he went out for a walk, his boots keeping his feet relatively dry despite the fact that the snow came up to almost mid-calf.

He didn't know how long he'd been wandering around in the dark, but eventually, the cold air biting into his exposed skin was too much, and he had to head home. Once there, everything was quiet, and he heaved a sigh of relief and disappeared into his room to crawl under his covers and try to regain some feeling in his fingers.

Though unsure of when he'd fallen asleep, he was jerked awake due to a disturbing dream, which he couldn't entirely remember, but knew it had upset him enough that he felt tears burning in his eyes. He wiped them away viciously before they had time to spill over, and climbed out of bed, noting it was almost eleven.

The kitchen was empty save for a cup of coffee being heated in the microwave, and a few seconds later, Itachi emerged from the downstairs bathroom, nodding to him and then disappearing back upstairs with his drink.

Pouring his own cup, he couldn't help but smirk at the thought that his parents would be just as hungover has he'd been a few days before, and almost had the desire to be loud to punish them for making him shovel the walk on that same day.

Almost. He wasn't suicidal.

Getting ready much more slowly than usual, if only because he didn't feel the need to rush since his parents had yet to emerge from their hovel, he made himself breakfast, dressed, and then headed out of the house and across the street on the cleared walks, finding satisfaction in the fact that it hadn't snowed again.

He knocked lightly on the front door, hoping Naruto would answer since he was somewhat worried his presence would anger the hungover people, but it was the blond's mother who opened the door. She didn't appear to look too bad, considering how drunk she'd been, and even managed to offer him a smile.

"Good morning, Sasuke. What brings you here so early?"

It was hardly early, but he chose not to comment on that. "I was just coming by to see if Naruto wanted to do something today."

Confusion flashed in her expression briefly before she winced. "Oh, honey, didn't he tell you? He went Christmas shopping today. He probably won't be home until later tonight."

A stab of anger pierced through the Uchiha before he forced himself to calm down. It wasn't like he _owned_ Naruto. The blond was allowed to go fucking shopping! And besides, Sasuke hadn't done any of his own shopping yet, either. Not that he had much since he'd given his parents his list, but considering their state the night before, he wasn't even sure if any of it had gotten done. Maybe he and Itachi could go out for a while.

"That's okay, he probably forgot. Thank you, Mrs. Uzumaki. Have a good day."

"Goodbye, Sasuke."

Heading back across the street, it didn't take him as long as he'd anticipated to convince Itachi to go out with him. He figured his brother was still a little repulsed by his parents' actions the night before, and was trying to procrastinate having to see them. Grabbing the car keys, they left a note for their parents and left the house, Sasuke trying not to get his hopes up that he might magically run into Naruto.

* * *

(1) I do, too, she's called my sister XD


	7. The Outing

**AN: I forgot to post this on FF |D My bad, sorry. On that note, at least I can warn that chapters will be coming later. My friend ran into financial difficulties so I offered commissions to help her out, so I've got a lot of work to do before I can get back to this. Sorry :S**

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches.  
**

* * *

**Two Hours Earlier.**

If there was any sound on the planet more infuriating than an alarm clock, Naruto had yet to be introduced to it, because as it stood, he wanted to smash the damn thing into nothingness. But he acknowledged that it wasn't the machine's fault. He'd been the one to set it, after all, for this ungodly hour of the morning.

Nine in the morning was ungodly to anyone who went to bed past midnight every day. He dared anyone to refute that claim.

Groaning, he rolled himself out of bed and began grabbing some clothes on auto-pilot, managing to put his shirt on inside out, and then cursing and fixing his mistake when he noticed it. Brushing his teeth and running his hand through his hair a few times, he went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, not bothering with breakfast since he knew he was probably going to get stuffed like a turkey in less than ten minutes.

He was in the process of writing his mother a note when she shuffled into the kitchen, doing a good impersonation of a zombie. Naruto had to cover his laugh with a cough.

"Good morning."

She turned to glare at him. "What's good about this morning?"

"Um, you're still alive?" He smirked. "And you had fun? I wish it was snowing, I'd make you go out and shovel the walk as punishment for overindulging," he teased.

Kushina snorted and opened the fridge to find something to eat. Upon coming up with nothing, she closed it and turned to her son. "Make me something."

"Can't. Kiba's coming to get me. We're going Christmas shopping." He held up the note he'd been in the process of writing.

"Mutt allowed on our side of the ocean this time?"

"According to his message, yes." Naruto leaned back against the counter, watching his mother peruse the fridge's contents again. "His mom wants something from some random store in London, so we're gonna be driving out there to do our shopping."

"London's pretty far, Naruto." Kushina turned to him, holding a container of rice in her hand. Naruto felt a stab of possessiveness when he noticed it was Sasuke's rice, but didn't say anything.

"We'll be back before the end of the night, I promise." The blond drained his drink and turned to the sink in order to avoid looking at his mother as she spooned out some of the rice. She hadn't even bothered to ask where it had come from.

"Well, knowing Kiba, if it cuts too close, he'll probably get you both tickets to fly down and back."

Naruto had to snort, because it was so true. The brunet was the most impatient person he knew, and besides, the Inuzuka had a curfew. If he wasn't on his side of Europe before the end of the night, Tsume was probably going to skin him alive.

The familiar sound of an engine could be heard down the street, and Kushina winced, the noise obviously not doing much for her headache. Smiling slightly and feeling justified, Naruto kissed her cheek and then went to wait for Kiba at the bottom of the driveway.

The car neared him, and he jumped in before it had even fully stopped, strapping himself in and motioning for the brunet to continue onwards.

"Morning, fucknut," was the greeting the other decided to grace him with. "You're a bastard faggot, you know that?"

"Gee, nice to see you, too." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I'm serious, asshole. You left me hanging for two fuckin' days. What, too busy fucking your imaginary girlfriend?"

"He's not imaginary." Naruto sighed for what felt like the millionth time.

Kiba'd never let him hear the end of it the previous night when he'd finally called the other back. He kept insisting Naruto was making Sasuke up, because he refused to talk about him, let him meet him, and wouldn't even provide him with a name. To Kiba, with all those factors, that meant he didn't exist.

Naruto had to wonder if things would be less complicated were that true. He wasn't even going to consider ditching his friendship with Kiba over this, but the attraction and almost frightening _need_ for Sasuke made him unwilling to cut the raven out of his life, either.

"Whatever."

He couldn't tell if Kiba was more annoyed at being ignored, or if he was angry Naruto hadn't saved him from his mother sooner than this. He supposed probably a little bit of both. It wasn't normal for the blond to do this, and he immediately felt guilty for rejecting his calls.

"Hey, dude, I'm sorry. Things are just a little—well, sensitive right now. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend doesn't like you."

Naruto almost choked on his seatbelt, though he was glad he was wearing it, otherwise he would have flown through the windshield with the force behind Kiba's brake. Luckily they were on a fairly deserted road, or else someone would have probably crashed into the brunet's rear bumper. Naruto supposed that was the only reason Kiba'd hit the brakes; he never would have risked a scratch on his baby. It didn't matter that he only got to drive it once a year, it was still his favourite car.

"What do you mean your boyfriend doesn't like me?!" Kiba exploded, rounding on Naruto as if it were _his_ fault. "I am fantastically likeable! I am like, the coolest person ever! How could your dumbass boyfriend not like me?! Does he have some kind of brain disorder?!"

"Would you lower the decibels a little?" Naruto winced, bringing his hands up to cover his ears. He felt like Kiba was overreacting just a little bit.

"Putain, qu'est ce que tu lui as dit?! C'est pas comme j'l'ai rencontré alors comment est-ce-que ce p'tit con peut te dire qu'il m'aime pas?!" (1)

Naruto didn't have to understand French to know that Kiba was blaming him. Of course he was, there was no one else to blame, and why would Kiba ever blame himself? Naruto rolled his eyes again.

"Look, as far as I can tell, he hates how close we are. He got jealous every time my phone rang, and saw us wrestling in the snow that first day you came down. He's possessive."

Kiba snorted and started driving again. "Great. You're both going to be so possessive of one another, no one will ever see you guys again."

"I'm not possessive!" Naruto insisted, scowling. He didn't know where Kiba got that ridiculous idea.

"Sure, sure." The brunet pulled a cigarette out of the glove box and struck a match against his face, as per usual, lighting the cancer stick and throwing the match out the window. After inhaling deeply, he continued. "You remember when you were dating Gaara. No wonder the guy broke up with you, you were so possessive you followed him to class."

"That was just one time!" Naruto insisted, starting to feel his defences rising. "And so what? I'm possessive of everybody in a non-possessive way."

"Uh huh. Sure, sure." Kiba shook his head and turned smoothly onto the highway. "When do I get to meet him, anyway? It's not like you to procrastinate."

"I told you, there are complications."

Naruto didn't want to talk about it. He almost regretted coming out with Kiba today, if only because he knew the other was going to spend the entire time trying to get information about Sasuke out of him, and he didn't want that. He wanted to have fun, and not have to skirt around Sasuke with his friend the way he skirted around Kiba with the raven.

_Why did I do this to myself?_ he thought with a sigh, looking out the window and watching the scenery pass. He smiled every now and then when some people turned to give the car a double-take, but they were quickly gone from his line of sight due to the speed with which Kiba drove.

"You're going to have to fess up eventually," Kiba grunted a few minutes later, obviously having stewed about it for a while. "I'm your best friend, unless_ that's_ changed, too."

"Oh, grow up," Naruto snapped. "Stop being such a child. Just because I won't tell you about him doesn't mean we're not still as close as we've always been."

"Whatever."

Naruto just growled and looked out the window again, getting annoyed and wishing once more he'd said no to this invitation. He'd been anticipating a fun day with lots of joking and laughing, and all he got was a grumpy Kiba, and an empty stomach. He wanted to go home. At least at home, he'd get to hang out with Sasuke, who wasn't nearly as annoying when it came to finding out information about Kiba.

They drove in silence for nearly half an hour before both of their stomachs began to rumble loudly, and Kiba couldn't ignore that fact anymore. He turned off at the first exit and asked what Naruto wanted. The blond grunted that anything would do, so Kiba pulled into the parking lot of a McDonalds and climbed out.

Naruto got them seats while the brunet ordered for them, glaring out the window and trying to see things from Kiba's perspective. He had to admit, if the other had been keeping his new boyfriend a secret, he'd probably be a little miffed, too, but he felt Kiba was taking things too far. Then again, he always did, so Naruto supposed he had to cut him a little bit of slack. His friend had always been one to overreact.

When the tray was placed in front of him, he opened his sandwich without a word and took a bite, watching Kiba dump a whole bunch more ketchup onto his burger before even thinking of picking it up.

"I think I get it," the brunet suddenly whispered. Naruto's chewing slowed.

"Get it?"

"Why you won't tell me. I think I get it. I'm not going to pretend I'm right, but based on everything..." Kiba shrugged, his eyes still on his food. "I'm a little annoyed you think so badly of me, if it's what I think it is, but I'll let you admit your mistakes in your own time."

He finally picked the burger up and took a bite, a large dollop of ketchup falling out of the other end and landing on the waxy paper it had been wrapped in.

"Does that mean you're gonna drop this?"

Kiba just nodded, wiping his thumb across the corner of his mouth and sucking the ketchup off it. "For now. But just remember, you're not gonna be able to hide me forever."

"Never said I was going to. I just need time, is all." Naruto suddenly found he wasn't quite as hungry and he'd been a few minutes ago. He had to wonder if his father was right. About Kiba. About Sasuke. About everything.

Maybe he wasn't giving either of them enough credit. But then again, there was no guarantee Kiba had guessed right. No offense to his friend, but he wasn't exactly the smartest person in the world. But—his dad was pretty smart. And Minato had said that Kiba would be cool with it, but even if Naruto wanted to believe that, there was still Sasuke.

_God, this is all just so fucked up..._ Naruto covered his face with his hands, taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm himself down.

Whatever happened, now that Kiba was aware of what he assumed was going on, it meant that Naruto would hopefully be able to have a few hours peace, and would just be able to enjoy himself with his best friend. No questions, no sneaking around, no nothing. Just him, Kiba, and some ridiculousness. This past week felt like the longest seven days of his life.

"Eat your food, fucknut, I'm not stopping again," Kiba said around a mouthful of burger. "And stop feeling sorry for yourself. I'll drop it if you stop being a baby."

"You're the baby," Naruto insisted with a small smile, easily moving back into their usual banter. He was thankful for his relationship with Kiba. He felt, now, like even if shit hit the fan with Sasuke, Kiba'd still be around for him. And that was all he was worried about, really. He didn't want to lose him.

So at least if things exploded, all he'd have to do is convince Sasuke not to leave him. It seemed Kiba was there for the whole ride. Well, he always had been, so Naruto laughed at how dumb he'd been.

"God, man, my brain is just jumping around now. I think I'm fucked one second, and then feel dumb for doubting you, and then think I'm fucked, and then—"

"And so on, and so forth." Kiba rolled his eyes, shoving a fry into his mouth. "I get it, blondie. I'm insulted, but I get it." He smirked.

Snorting, Naruto went back to eating his burger, chewing it slowly while he thought things over, trying to decide if he should just tell Kiba about Sasuke now. He decided to wait a little longer. Once he told Kiba, he'd have to tell Sasuke, and that was something he wanted to procrastinate a little longer. Especially considering how things had gone a few days ago.

"Merde." Naruto looked up when Kiba spoke, the brunet shifting in his seat and reaching into his pocket. He sighed and flipped open his phone, putting it to his ear. The blond couldn't help but smirk. "Oui, Maman?"

"Hi momma," he called loudly.

"Yeah, Naruto says hi." Kiba picked up a fry and used it to move the others across his tray. "I'm in England, like I said." He dropped the fry. "Maman, come on! You told me you wanted that thing from London! I told you I was coming to get it today!"

A grin slowly made its way across the blond's face as he watched the stress slowly building in his friend's body. It was somewhat comical how scared Kiba was of his mother.

"Putain, tu m'as dit que tu voulais quelque chose de Londre, et j'ai demandé! Ouais, j'ai demandé! Maman, I asked you! You said I had to be back before ten tonight!" Kiba was covering his face with his free hand now, letting out deep sighs. "I'm not going to go partying with Naruto! He has things to do tonight!" (2)

The blond snickered and Kiba parted his fingers to glare hatefully at his friend, then continued on the phone.

"I don't know, Maman, I'm not his keeper. He's going to go fuck his boyfriend."

Naruto couldn't hold back the laughter, he just exploded and started slapping the table at Kiba's absolute terror when the end of that sentence hit, because he'd said the word "fuck" to his mother.

They'd finished eating and were back in the car for close to twenty minutes before Kiba could finally get a word in, and apologize, and promise his mother he'd be home before ten. He hung up the phone after that, paused for one second, and then started hitting Naruto hard in the arm.

"Ow! Ow!" Naruto exclaimed, unable to help laughing even as pain shot up his arm from where the other was hitting him. "Ow, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"You're so not sorry, you jackass!" Kiba hit him once more for good measure, then threw his phone into the back of the car, letting out an angry grunt. "God, that woman is insane! And annoying as fuck! She was all over me coming here yesterday because she wanted her stupid present, and now she's all—ugh!" He slapped his steering wheel hard, Naruto trying to muffle his laughter.

"Dude, she probably just remembered this morning that I was here. You know she's scared you'll never come home." He grinned.

"Yeah, and then she wonders why dad left her!"

The grin fell off the blond's face so fast it was like someone hit an off-switch. He pressed his lips together and looked out the front window, not quite sure what to say. Kiba only ever brought up the fact that his dad had walked out when he was really mad at his mother, and even then, the second the words left his mouth, he felt like shit.

Naruto could tell the "feeling like shit" part was starting, and the brunet was beating himself up for having said that. It was weird, this entire day hadn't gone anything like he'd imagined, and he knew it was partly his fault. He wanted to fix it, but it was hard. How did one fix something like this?

"We were live roleplaying." He didn't have to tell him _everything_, but he knew hearing just a little bit would make Kiba feel better.

"What?"

_Oh yeah, he hates himself,_ Naruto thought with a wince, hearing the self-hatred in that one word. He hoped he would be able to distract him.

"When you kept calling me the other day? We were roleplaying." He forced a smile and turned to look at Kiba, the other glancing at him briefly out of the corner of his eye, then looking back at the road. "He has this one window downstairs that's never locked, and I climbed through it once. When his parents left the house, I went over and kept ringing the doorbell and the stupid bastard took his sweet-ass time making it downstairs, so I went around the house to climb through the window and—"

"That's called breaking and entering, you know," Kiba interrupted. Naruto was happy to see the beginnings of a smirk on the other's face.

"You know, that's what he said! Which led to the roleplaying." The blond grinned genuinely this time. "I climbed through the window and then we just—started talking about how I was breaking in, and I told him he loved it, and one thing led to another, and we were playing around. I pretended to be breaking in, and he was still home when I thought the family was out. We fought a little bit, and he got hard, and I was so turned on that I threw him to the ground and—"

"Dude!" Kiba shouted loudly, Naruto pausing and turning to look at him. "I don't wanna know! I'll stick with—you guys were fighting and good times were had, and oh Christ, I have a visual." Kiba whined, shaking the wheel he was holding slightly. "Why did you have to go and do that?!"

"You know, Kiba, you shouldn't act like being with a guy is the end of the world." Naruto smirked. _These_ were the kind of trips he loved having with his best friend. The more uncomfortable he made Kiba, the funnier the excursion. "I mean, think about it: blowjobs from girls are amazing, it's true, but you know what you like, right? Well, it's so easy to please a guy, or for that guy to please you because you _both_ know what feels good! Trust me, I dare you to get one from a dude and tell me it wasn't the best you've ever had."

Kiba snorted, checked the rearview mirror, and switched lanes. "That'll be the day."

"You've gone pretty far while drunk, Kiba." Naruto knew he was treading on dangerous ground here, but he wanted Kiba to stop being such a prude. The guy needed to broaden his horizons.

"What does that mean?" The brunet's face paled. "How far?!"

"Oh, calm down." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I've never taken advantage of you, but let's just say you're an amazing kisser when you're not being all tense about kissing a guy."

He half-expected Kiba to slam on the brakes again, but instead, the other just impersonated a fish, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he finally just fumed silently in his corner. Naruto laughed and turned on the radio, looking out the window at the passing scenery once more.

"You better not have fucked him," Kiba suddenly said in a low voice. The blond smiled slightly, if only because he remembered his friend's condition, and then focussed on watching the trees pass while thinking about the conversation he and Kiba had just had.

It was weird to think of how it might have gone had he not met Sasuke. Naruto enjoyed his fair share of flirtations and relationships, but he'd always had a crush on Kiba, and had often thought of having this conversation with him, if only to see if maybe he could convince the other to _try_ things. They made out in clubs all the time, even if Kiba was visibly uncomfortable, so why couldn't they try at home?

Now, the idea seemed like a distant memory. Sasuke was all he could think about, and while having some sort of relationship with Kiba was appealing, it definitely didn't hold his interest as much as it would have a week ago. It was why the whole situation with Sasuke was so terrifying. Losing him was horrifying, but losing Kiba wasn't an option, either. And he'd exhausted the thought, but it kept coming back. He just didn't want anything to happen. He was so scared of losing them both, and by keeping them apart, he knew he would, but by bringing them together—he just wanted to enjoy the brief period he could have with them. Was that so selfish? And unfair? To want to keep them both?

It wasn't like he was cheating on Sasuke. And it wasn't like he was replacing Kiba. They were both two important parts of his life, it wasn't like he was choosing one over the other. In fact, he was doing his very best _not_ to, even though ignoring all of Kiba's phonecalls _had_ been sort of assholeish. But he felt justified. If Sasuke called today, he wouldn't answer, either. It wasn't fair to Kiba. Even if he really, _really_ wanted to answer, he wouldn't.

"Hey," he whispered, turning to look at Kiba. The other glanced at him to show he was listening, a cigarette in his left hand. Naruto hadn't even noticed he'd lit one. "You're my best friend, you know that, right?"

"As corny as you're being, yes, I know that." Kiba inhaled on his cigarette, blowing the smoke out the open window and letting his hand rest against the sill. "Why?"

"You trust me, don't you?"

"I have to, otherwise our entire relationship is fucked."

"I'm being serious." Naruto scowled. "You _do_ trust me, right?"

"Is this about the boyfriend again?" Kiba sighed, flicking ash off the end of his cigarette and bringing it back to his mouth. He inhaled before answering the other's question, smoke escaping from between his lips as he continued. "You're the one who said you didn't wanna talk about him, so stop bringing it up."

"I know." Naruto rubbed his face. "I just—I don't wanna lose you over this. I don't want you to ditch me because I'm taking too long to tell you about him. But..."

"But you're scared he'll ditch if you talk about it now." Kiba nodded to himself slowly, biting the inside of his cheek. Naruto nodded, watching his friend closely. The brunet was silent for a while, then shrugged and finished off his cigarette, flicking it out the window. "Well, if the asshole can't handle this, I don't think your relationship is meant to be."

Opening his mouth to argue, Kiba continued too quickly for Naruto to get a word out.

"_But_, I acknowledge this one is more important to you than past ones, so I'll try and be patient, even though I'm like, one-hundred percent sure now that I know what the deal is."

"If you say so," Naruto said, unsure of what else he could reply with. He went back to looking out the window.

It didn't take them much longer to reach their destination, and after parking in the underground lot, the two of them made their way up to the mall. Both of them let out huge sighs as they saw all the people, and then shared a look.

"You owe me, man."

Snorting, Kiba led the way. "You have shopping to do, too. Don't even try and pull that with me." He turned to grin at his friend. "We can find something for your girlfriend."

"Will you stop calling him that?" Naruto huffed angrily, narrowing his eyes and shoving his hands in his pockets. Though Kiba was right, now would be the perfect opportunity to buy something for Sasuke. He didn't know _what_ yet, but something.

"Ah, yes!" Kiba slapped his hands together and hurried towards a shop, Naruto trailing behind him. He could only assume it was the shop he needed to buy his mother's present. When he entered, he almost gagged due to the intense smell. That was when he clued in that it was a perfume store, and he had to wonder what kind of perfume Mrs. Inuzuka wanted that made it only available in London. Surely they had these places in France?

"Sweet." Kiba grabbed a bottle off the shelf and brought it to the checkout, where the woman proceeded to ring him through and then wrap it up so perfectly, Naruto was almost in awe. His mother sucked at wrapping presents—so did he and his father—so seeing things perfectly wrapped like that was unbelievable.

"How do people wrap so well?" Naruto inquired once they'd left the shop. "I mean, is there a secret school I don't know about? Even _you_ wrap well!"

"I'm a little insulted by how you stressed the 'you' in your sentence." Kiba scowled at his friend, then held his hand out to the side, the perfume clutched in it. It was taken from his grip and Naruto opened his mouth to shout something when he turned around and almost jumped out of his skin.

"Don't _do_ that!" He shouted at Hidan, who'd been standing literally right behind him with a horrifying expression on his face, waiting for Naruto to turn around. "God!"

"You guys are late," was all Kiba said.

He didn't say it in an annoyed tone, it was more teasing, and the grin on his face just confirmed that. Clearly, he was pleased with the speed of his car with relation to other people's.

"We apologize for the delay, sir." Kakuzu bowed slightly, holding Kiba's purchase in his hands.

"Ugh, _Kiba_! Call me..." The brunet let himself trail off, then just sighed and shook his head, turning to continue through the mall. Naruto snickered, following along beside him.

* * *

Though the day had been agonizingly long—neither boy enjoyed shopping much—it had been eventful. Naruto had managed to find an additional gift for his mother, and something much better than the ties he'd bought his father. Of course, he and Kiba had bought each other gifts on the spot when one of them showed interest, and had agreed to wrap them for show and put them under their trees. It was corny, but hey, it was Christmas.

"Well, I think that's about it," Kiba said, checking his watch. "It's almost five. If you're done, we can start heading back and stop for a bite to eat on the way. Unless you wanted to eat here or something."

"I'd rather eat here." Naruto grinned at him, enjoying the way he didn't have any bags to carry when he shopped with Kiba. Kakuzu and Hidan took them all. "We passed a sushi bar earlier upstairs, and I am all over that."

"Sounds good." He turned abruptly, the blond following him so they could head to the escalator. "Hey," he said, turning once they were on the steps and regarding Naruto, "you didn't find anything for your boytoy, did you?"

"Nah, but it's cool. I'm sure I'll find something." The blond shrugged. "I saw a few things, but I want something to really jump out at me, you know? I don't wanna get him something just for the sake of getting something. I want it to be... I don't know. Special."

Kiba stared at him a few seconds, and then snorted so hard Naruto was sure it had hurt. "That was so corny, dude. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a girl."

"We can always test that theory, if you like. There are bathrooms around." Naruto grinned, and enjoyed the way Kiba's face paled. His friend really was too much of a riot for his own good.

"J't'hais," the brunet grumbled, stepping off the escalators and walking in the direction the sushi restaurant was in. (3)

Naruto just laughed, shaking his head, and made a note to find out what that meant, since Kiba said it to him a lot. He was pretty sure it was nothing nice, but with the brunet, hardly anything ever was.

Just as he passed the last shop to catch up to Kiba at the podium of the restaurant, he paused and frowned slightly. He was feeling that same urge he'd had the first day he'd met Sasuke. When something had just compelled him to go outside. Now, it was compelling him to enter the store, and hey, after what had happened last time, he was all for listening to his instincts.

So, he turned and entered the store, noting it was much quieter than any of the others he'd been to recently. It had a kind of calm feel to it, and he noticed most of the things around him looked old. Well, not old, per se, but like they were antiques, or trying to imitate antiques. He liked them, they looked nice.

"Can I help you?"

He turned when a man came out of the back room, smiling at him. Naruto just shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"I'm not sure yet. I'm just looking."

"Please," the man motioned his store, "take your time."

"Thanks."

It was around that time that Kiba showed up, complaining about being hungry even though he'd spoken about stopping on the way home. Evidently, he was just tired of shopping, and wanted to get the hell out of the store.

Naruto just ignored him and continued to look around, running his fingers over the smooth surface of an intricately carved chair, and leaning closer to inspect some oil paintings. Just when he was starting to think his intuition had been wrong, his eyes fell on a large, leather-bound journal. Frowning, he moved over to it and picked it up, flipping it over in his hands.

It looked old, and he was sure it must have been filled with text, but when he undid the leather binding and pulled it open, he found the pages blank. His heart rate increased slightly as he thought of giving this to his boyfriend, even though he couldn't entirely explain why. It just seemed—so perfect.

"Is this a present?" He started, and turned to see the shopkeeper standing closeby. Kiba was lingering near the till, though he'd found something interesting on one of the neighbouring tables, if his expression was any indication.

"Sorry?" Naruto snapped himself out of his musings.

"This journal. Were you thinking of giving it to someone?"

"Er, yeah." The blond felt a little uneasy talking about his Christmas shopping with a random shopkeeper.

"An interesting choice. Giving someone an empty book as a present denotes your desire to know their every thought."

Looking back at the book, Naruto felt he'd have liked to know what goes on in the raven's head every now and then. Slowly, he closed the book and bound it again, watching his hands as they worked. He was about to start putting the book down again, but his hands wouldn't obey. It was like this book was the perfect present, and his body wouldn't let him not get it.

Sighing in defeat, he grinned at the shopkeeper and headed for the till, Kiba grumbling something in French—obviously cursing at Naruto—and put the book down on the counter.

"How much is it, anyway?" The blond pulled his wallet out and started to count out his cash when he froze at the man's answer.

"Five-hundred and seventy-two dollars."

"You're joking, right? Six-hundred bucks for this?" He motioned the book.

The shopkeeper shrugged. "It takes a lot to make it. This _is_ an antique store. It's expected that the prices will be high."

Naruto didn't have that kind of money. Even if he wanted to spend that much on Sasuke, he couldn't, he just wasn't that rich, especially considering he'd spent tons of money buying stuff earlier in the day.

He was disappointed, now. He'd found the perfect present, and just as quickly, he'd lost it. Now he was going to have to start over. Well, at least he knew he could get him a book, just—it wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't find another book this perfect.

Sighing, he put his wallet back and apologized to the man on the other side of the counter. Smacking Kiba in the arm, he led the way out of the store, only to pause at the door when his friend called that he'd meet him there. Naruto noticed he was holding an oddly-shaped stone and snorted. The other was weird sometimes.

"Okay, well, I'll get us seated," he informed his friend, and then went next door. Telling the woman at the podium he wanted a table for two, she led him into the restaurant and seated him. Then she handed him a menu and disappeared.

He'd already decided on two things he wanted when something heavy fell onto the table in front of him and he jumped a mile high. Lowering his menu, blue eyes locked with brown before glancing down. He grit his teeth and looked back up at Kiba angrily, the brunet now examining the menu as if nothing had happened.

"What's this?"

"Merry Christmas, it's another present for you. Except it's not really your style, my bad, feel free to give it away." He flipped the menu over to look at the back.

"Kiba," the blond picked the leather-bound journal up and waved it in the other's face, "this was _six-hundred dollars_!"

"And I'm rich, what's that amount mean to me?" The brunet finally looked at him, slightly annoyed. "You looked like a kicked puppy when it clicked that you couldn't get it, so just shut up and say thank you." And he was back to looking at the menu.

Naruto growled angrily and snatched his own menu back up, ignoring the brunet in front of him for a long while before sighing and letting it fall down again.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"De rien," the brunet replied automatically. "I think I'm gonna get some miso soup. I like soup."

Snorting softly, Naruto smiled at his friend, even though he was being purposefully ignored, and picked his menu back up after having tucked the book safely away in one of the other bags he had when Kakuzu had suddenly appeared at the table beside them.

* * *

"I don't see why you're speeding so much," Naruto insisted, trying his best not to grip the dash since that would've been a pretty pussy move. Though to be fair, Kiba was going almost one-seventy, and the limit was ninety. Every time they hit a particularly slippery part of the road, Naruto prayed quickly and silently to himself, and his prayers were always answered.

Except the one where he asked for Kiba to slow the fuck down!

"Because."

"Dude, you can't leave until Kakuzu and Hidan are there, too, anyway! And they're probably still in the mall _parking lot_ with the way you're driving!"

"Possibly."

He'd agreed. But he didn't slow down. Naruto just sighed and went back to praying, if only because he needed to make it home alive so Sasuke didn't kill him.

Thinking about Sasuke made him tense with worry. At this hour, the other would surely be awake, and what would happen when he saw Kiba's car? He'd know Naruto was out with him again, and he didn't want to lie. But—no, just a few more days. One, or two. Or maybe five. Five was a good number. Multiples of five were always good numbers. It would be the twenty-third of December in five days. That was a good day. He would tell him then.

If the opportunity arose, of course. If not, well, he could wait until the twenty-fourth. He obviously couldn't tell him the twenty-fifth, that was ridiculous, so if things fell through—

"My God, fucknut, you're so transparent."

Naruto turned to look at Kiba, frowning, and somewhat annoyed his perfect planning had been interrupted. "What?"

"Arrête avec les excuses." The brunet shook his head. "I can practically _hear_ your thoughts right now. You're tensing, so you're thinking about your boytoy, and gradually you started getting relaxed, which means you're thinking about when you'll tell him, and finding reasons to procrastinate." Kiba shot him a look, and then returned his gaze to the windshield. (4)

"I dare you to find a scenario as troubling as this one," Naruto glared and then looked out the window again. He was glad they'd been driving for so long, because this wasn't really a conversation he wanted to have right now. He already recognized the scenery, so they weren't too far from his home.

"Well given you haven't _told_ me anything..."

Apparently the atmosphere was enough for Kiba not to want to finish his sentence. He just pulled a cigarette out from the glove box, struck a match against his face, and started inhaling on the cancer stick.

Naruto kept his mouth shut the rest of the way home.

By the time they pulled up into his driveway, he'd calmed down enough that when he climbed out, and Kiba followed after grabbing a bag from the back seat, he didn't freak out at him. He just led the way to the back of the car so he could get his things, and then walked towards the house, calling that he was home. His mother exited the kitchen and smiled warmly, but Naruto distinctly noted she wasn't her usual hyper self. Apparently, hangovers didn't work well for her, either.

"Kiba, hello." She held her arms out and hugged him tightly, then wrinkled her nose. "You're still smoking? I was hoping the smell the other night had been the club."

"Living with my mother is stressful, mom." Kiba grinned and took a step back, then held out the bag he'd taken from Kakuzu before they'd gone their separate ways. "This is for you."

"Oh, sweetie." Kushina touched the brunet's face with one hand, then took the bag, pulling the present out. Naruto cocked an eyebrow, noticing it was the perfume he'd seen the woman wrap. He'd assumed that had been for his own mother, but apparently, he'd been wrong. "I'll go put it under the tree."

"What, nothing for me?" Minato appeared on the stairs, grinning at Kiba. The brunet laughed.

"I couldn't think of anything. Maybe I'll get you some new golf clubs or something."

Laughing as well, the older man waved his hand dismissively, and followed after his wife.

"I should go," Kiba said, turning to Naruto and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'll hit the docks first, but Kakuzu and Hidan will flip if I'm not there when they arrive."

"Yeah, true. I'll walk you out."

Kiba called farewell to the other's parents, and walked back outside, stopping beside his door. Naruto stood across the car from him, looking at him over the large machinery.

"Sorry today didn't go as smoothly as it should have," Kiba said.

"It's not your fault, it's mine. Thanks for inviting me out, though. Despite everything, it was still fun."

Kiba grinned. "Bien sur! You were with me, fucknut." Pulling open the car door, he climbed in and revved the engine. Naruto bent down and knocked on the passenger-side window, the other rolling it down.

"Thanks. For the book, I mean. Seriously." He hated it when Kiba spent money on him.

"No worries. You'd have done the same thing for me." With a brilliant grin, Kiba lifted one hand in farewell and then hit the gas, shooting backwards out of the driveway and almost taking out the Uchiha's mailbox. Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm.

Then, Kiba was peeling down the street and within seconds, he'd disappeared. Naruto would find it shocking if he made it back to France alive, considering his reckless driving and all the snow and ice on the roads.

Shaking his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets, and started to turn when he noticed movement in one of the windows across the street. Feeling panic rising in his chest, his eyes darted up to Sasuke's window, but it was empty. His gaze shifted to the right and he saw the movement had come from Itachi's room.

The older Uchiha was standing in front of the large window, his hands in his pockets and his eyes locked on Naruto's. The blond felt uneasy and quickly turned on his heel to find shelter in his home, leaning back against the front door once it was closed and exhaling slowly.

He wondered how much Itachi saw. When had he looked out his window? What would he tell Sasuke? Naruto didn't have the brain capacity—or the talent—to lie to him. But then again, what would he lie about? He'd gone out shopping with a friend. He wasn't allowed to go out with a friend?

A knock at the door made him jump a mile high and he turned around, wrenching open the door. He got a deer-in-the-headlights look when his eyes found Sasuke's, and he hoped he didn't look as guilty as he felt.

_**Why**__ do I feel so guilty?! I hung out with Kiba! It's not a crime!_

He felt it was soon going to be.

Though oddly enough, Sasuke didn't look upset. He looked a little annoyed, maybe even kind of embarrassed, but he wasn't upset. Definitely not the same expression as the last time Naruto'd been caught with Kiba.

"Hi..." he said uncertainly, wondering if this was all a cruel joke and the raven was going to kick the crap out of him within the next few seconds.

"Hey. Itachi said he saw you come back." Sasuke shifted his weight, and Naruto could tell he was trying to look and sound casual with his next words. "You have fun?"

"Not really." That was easy, it wasn't a lie. He liked spending time with Kiba, but shopping wasn't by any means _fun_. "Thought about you a lot. Was gonna text you, but I didn't wanna bug you."

"Hn." Sasuke shrugged. "I went out with my brother. Went shopping."

"Yeah, me too." Naruto grinned. "Not with your brother, though. That'd have been weird."

Sasuke snorted. "Get anything interesting?"

"A few things. I'd tell you, but they're a secret." The blond waggled his eyebrows, and Sasuke snorted again. "Sorry I didn't tell you, I kinda forgot until, well, my alarm went off, to be honest." He laughed.

"You make it sound like I'm controlling." Sasuke glared at him slightly. "You're allowed to go out, you know."

"Oh, thank you, how kind." Naruto snickered and played with the lock on the other side of the door, regarding his boyfriend. "You have a good day?"

"I suppose," the Uchiha replied. "Would've preferred some dumbass in my day."

"Oh, is that so?" This was interesting. "You craving me, now? Can't spend an entire day without a hearty dose?"

The Uchiha glared at him, and that just made Naruto's grin widen. Sasuke needed him as much as he needed the raven. That was a good thing to know, for sure.

"I can't hang out tonight, my family and I are going out for dinner and then to a movie. But I was hoping you could use your sickening gift and get our parents to go out together again."

"My sickening gift?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "You mean my irresistible charm?"

"Same thing." Sasuke smirked, causing the blond to pout slightly.

"Fine. I'll work on my maniacal plot. The parents will be out of our hair before midday." Naruto laughed evilly, then slowly let it die down when Sasuke didn't look impressed, though he _did_ look a little amused.

"Good. I'll come by tomorrow when my parents leave." The raven started walking backwards, and Naruto exited the house to follow him slightly.

"Whoa, wait, you're not gonna tell me _why_ you need me to charm our families out of the house?" His already huge grin widened even more, so much so it was hurting his face. "Did you have interestingly dirty thoughts in my absence? Because you know, that'd be hot."

"Don't think you have _that_ much of an affect on me." Sasuke smirked again. "I just got an idea for our roleplaying. This time, we'll stick to it, and then things might get... interesting."

Naruto felt his cock pulse in his pants, and suddenly, his mind was working at warp speed, trying to find ways to get their parents out of the house for the whole day. Hell, it was even throwing in ways for Sasuke to get out of the movie.

That was so unfair, Sasuke teasing him like that! Promising him a good time while simultaneously telling him he had to wait for it! God, when tomorrow came, he was going to be _such_ an asshole to the Uchiha to pay him back for this! It was like Sasuke stripping naked, standing in front of him, and then telling him he wasn't allowed to look! Or touch! Or anything!

"You're a dirty, dirty tease, Uchiha, and you shall pay dearly for that." Naruto glared slightly.

"Bring it on, dumbass." And the bastard was smirking again. "We'll see what you're made of tomorrow."

When he turned to leave, Naruto snorted and grabbed the other's arm, yanking him back around. Sasuke looked momentarily startled, but recovered quickly, smoothing his face over into a mask of indifference, but the blond chuckled as he cradled his face between his hands.

"I saw that." He pressed his forehead against the other's. "I startled you."

"It was the stench." The raven snorted. "You smell like cigarettes."

Naruto's heart gave a double-thump of fear, but he ignored it, and chose not to comment on Sasuke's words. Instead, he just leaned in slowly and pressed his lips against the raven's, then sucked lightly on the other's bottom lip.

The Uchiha responded immediately, parting his lips to grant Naruto access, and he took it without hesitation, his tongue delving inside the other's mouth and massaging his own. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but they were a few very _heated_ seconds, and when they pulled apart, they were both panting.

"What was that for?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.

"It was my hello kiss." Naruto grinned, leaning in to kiss him again once. "This is gonna be my goodbye kiss."

Before he could kiss the raven again, Sasuke pulled away and smirked, walking backwards across the street with his hands in his pockets.

"Giving me a goodbye kiss insinuate I'm going somewhere. Save that kiss as another hello kiss for tomorrow, dumbass."

Before Naruto could think of an appropriate response, the raven had disappeared into his house. The blond pouted, sad he hadn't gotten his second kiss of the day, and finding he was just as addicted to Sasuke's taste as he assumed the other was to his own. After all, Sasuke had plans for the following day, so he _had_ to enjoy Naruto's taste, right?

His cock pulsed in his pants again and Naruto let out a small groan.

_God, tonight is going to be the longest night of my life..._

Turning around to head back inside, he hoped to God they had some good movies, or else it really _was_ going to be a long fucking night.

* * *

The many words of French!Kiba:  
First, a note: Putain is the French equivalent to "Fuck" but it also means like "Damn" or "Shit" or like, other lower profanities so saying "putain" isn't the same to French people as saying "fuck" to an English one XD (I have proof, I say putain in front of my mom all the time, but I say fuck and I'm dead |D)

(1) Fuck, what did you tell him?! It's not like I met him so how can that little bastard/asshole tell you he doesn't like me?!  
(2) Fuck, you told me you wanted something from London, and I asked! Yes, I asked!  
(3) I despise you.  
(4) Stop with the excuses.


	8. The Roleplay

**AN: I'm not dead, honest. I just feel like I am. **

******AN2: (Edit) Due to the FF smackdown, I've edited all lemony chapters to be less detailed so if they seem kinda disjointed, that's why. If you want the original versions, they're posted on Ygal. **

**Disclaimer: Not mine, K. Masashi's babies. We just want them, is all. **

* * *

Sasuke smirked when he returned home, closing the door behind himself and finding satisfaction in the thought of having tortured Naruto even just a little today. He knew the blond was now going to be tossing and turning all night, and would possibly even jack off in the shower or something later, but that thought pleased him. Served the moron right for ditching him all day, and leaving him with Itachi. That was almost akin to unforgivable.

_Speak of the devil, _Sasuke thought when his brother came down the stairs reading the newspaper. He looked up when he noticed his brother, and paused.

"Everything all right?"

Cocking an eyebrow, Sasuke snorted. "Why wouldn't it be?"

He started moving past his brother, heading up the stairs, but stopped to look at the other when Itachi called after him.

"Naruto didn't say anything?"

"Say anything about what?" He frowned.

Itachi just stared at him, then turned and headed for the kitchen. Sasuke frowned after him, then scoffed and continued up the stairs. His brother was so fucking weird sometimes. Still, obviously the older man knew something Sasuke didn't. He hated that, but he knew his brother was expecting him to ask what he meant, which was precisely why he didn't. He was just going to go to his room, play some video games for a little bit, go to dinner with his family like he was supposed to, go to the movie, come home, and go to bed. And all the while, he was going to think of poor Naruto squirming on his side of the street.

Entering his room, he moved to his window straight away, looking out of it and smirking when he found Naruto in his room hitting his punching bag. While he wasn't hitting it any less ferociously than usual, he definitely seemed distracted. Every time he stopped, he rubbed at his eyes with the backs of his hands, and then shifted his weight in a manner Sasuke recognized as trying to shift his cock around in his pants without actually grabbing it.

Smirking devilishly and deciding to punish Naruto for his own display a few days prior, Sasuke stretched and moved into his bathroom. He wanted to shower regardless, due to the day he'd had out in public with millions of disgusting, unclean people, but this was just going to add insult to injury for the blond.

If he wanted to do this, though, he'd have to be quick, because at any moment, Naruto could stop and take his own shower. And then the whole point of this would be lost.

Stripping down quickly and tossing his things in the corner of his bathroom, Sasuke turned the shower on to as hot as he could handle it and jumped in. His tense muscles immediately relaxed and he rolled his shoulders, enjoying the feel of heat beating down against his flesh. He quickly soaped himself up, then grabbed the shampoo and lathered it into his hair. Once he felt he was decently clean, he rinsed off quickly, and turned the water off.

Stepping out of the shower was probably the hardest thing he'd done in a while, especially when the cold air slammed into him like a ton of bricks. Grabbing his towel, he almost forfeited his entire plan, if only so he could keep his toes. He might need those one day. But, he wanted Naruto to suffer, so he dried himself off as much as possible so he was as dry as could be—the cold really wasn't doing his wet body any favours—and then let his towel drop. Smirking deviously, he stepped out of the bathroom, glancing out his window from the corner of his eye, and stretched.

The blond was still there working out, but to Sasuke's knowledge, he hadn't once looked over at him. That wasn't normal, but then again, he seemed to be focussing on not thinking about Sasuke. Which was precisely why he was putting on this little show. Naruto couldn't avoid looking up forever.

And just as expected, though it was close to ten minutes later, Naruto finally looked over, and his mouth dropped. A little bit more visual than Sasuke had been anticipating, but pleasing all the same. He just smirked while walking around his room buck naked, pretending not to even have noticed he had an audience. He did, however, see Naruto run into his bathroom much faster than ever before.

That just set Sasuke off. He knew he was being an asshole, at this point, but he couldn't help it. If Naruto was going to torture him on a regular basis, well, Sasuke learned by experience. And he'd had enough of Naruto's teasing to know how to give back just as well.

Besides, dumbass deserved it. Now tomorrow was going to be even _more_ interesting.

* * *

While Sasuke wanted to say spending the evening with his family had been torture, he'd actually rather enjoyed himself. Their dinner had been fun, which was a weird word to associate with his family, and the movie had been really good. Overall, it had been a successful evening. So successful, he'd actually gone home and gone to bed without remembering what the following day would bring him.

December nineteenth, only six days away from Christmas. Exactly nine days since having met Naruto. And already the retard was an important part of his life. And cunning. As much as he hated admitting that, the fucking dumbass was cunning.

Inhaling deeply and letting out a small noise akin to a sigh, Sasuke rolled onto his side in bed and nuzzled against his pillow, struggling to remain asleep so he could stay immersed in his amazing dream. As usual though, something was compelling him to awaken, and though he didn't know what it was, he fought valiantly against it until it finally won out.

Frowning while his brain clawed itself to consciousness, he realized someone was sucking on his neck, and the second it sunk in, his eyes snapped open and he jerked up onto his elbows, bleary eyes trying to focus on who was in his room.

"You really thought I was going to let you do that to me without finding a way to pay you back?"

"Naruto?" The raven turned his head to glance at the time. "It's nine in the morning."

"I know. I'm brilliant that way."

"What?" Sasuke was horrendously confused.

"You said you wanted our parents out of the house, and they're gone. They went golfing at this special place my dad knows about. Indoors, just as big as a normal golf course, but not snowed over." The blond was grinning like a fool. "It's an overnight kind of game, on account of it being so far."

Sasuke sat up completely, now, rolling over so he was sitting instead of putting all his weight on his arms. A slow smirk lifted the corners of his mouth. "You're joking."

"I don't joke," the blond replied, so seriously that if Sasuke didn't know him better, he'd have believed him.

"You got our parents out of the house for two whole days?"

"Well, more like one and a half, but I figure why waste time letting you sleep?" He grinned devilishly. "There's only one rule while they're gone, and it came from Itachi. He doesn't want us here."

"I can live with that." Sasuke smirked and threw the covers off himself. "Might as well get the day started, right?"

"My thoughts exactly."

Snorting at the way Naruto's eyes rove down his body, Sasuke stood and moved to find himself some clothes, yanking on a pair of jeans and a shirt he didn't mind getting ruined. Since Naruto had destroyed the last shirt he'd had during their little roleplaying game, he wasn't going to make the mistake of wearing a nice one.

Grabbing his backpack, he started throwing a few things into it, moving into the bathroom to brush his teeth and re-inflate his hair before tossing everything from there into his bag, as well. Then, he relieved himself, very much aware of Naruto standing in the doorway.

"Going on vacation?" the blond teased.

"Something like that," the other replied with a smirk, washing his hands, then throwing his bag over his shoulder. "And it's your turn to cook."

"Way ahead of you, princess."

Sasuke wanted to be annoyed at the nickname, but he couldn't. Truth be told, he was pretty nervous about his own plans for the day. Excited, absolutely. Confident, definitely. Nervous, fuck yes.

They made it to the stairs, Naruto calling good morning to Itachi, even though the other's door was closed. They'd just made it to the base of the stairs when the blond's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket, and Sasuke saw him wince before he shook his head. Blue eyes flittered up to lock with Sasuke's before lowering, the blond pressing his lips together.

"I gotta take this. If I don't..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "Just one second, I'm sorry."

He walked backwards slightly, phone in hand, and then turned around and disappeared into the living room, flipping the phone open.

"Dude, I can't talk right now. I'm busy. I'm gonna _be_ busy until tomorrow night."

Sasuke scowled slightly, wondering who he was talking to, even though he already knew. That fucking brunet. He was going to drive himself insane trying to find out who he was.

"I know, I—fuck, I know, all right? I'll make it up to you. I will. Dude—please, not right now. Now's not a good time." Another pause. "Yeah, I am. And yeah, he fucking matters, okay? I'll admit it, he matters. So just fuck off for two days and I'll call you tomorrow."

Sasuke heard him hang up, and while he was annoyed by most of the conversation, he had to admit, the ending to it had rather pleased him. Whoever was on the other end obviously was a friend—the fucking brunet Sasuke wanted to murder, but digression aside—but he'd been told off for interrupting Naruto's time with Sasuke. And that made him feel really good.

"Everything okay?" he asked both casually and suspiciously when the blond exited the living room.

"Yup." Naruto grinned broadly and motioned the front door. "Shall we?"

It had snowed during the night again, and Sasuke could see where both cars had left their garages, as well as two sets of prints coming up to Sasuke's house, and one set walking away.

"Your mom and mine drove up together, same with our dads," Naruto replied when he noticed Sasuke looking.

"How did you get in, anyway?" The thought hadn't occurred to Sasuke until now, but he knew for a fact Itachi wouldn't have let him in, too worried about what they would do while alone in Sasuke's room.

"How do you think? I used the window." He grinned, pushing open his front door. "You really need to start locking it."

"And miss out on having an awesome wake up call like I did this morning?" Sasuke smirked. "Not a chance."

Laughing, Naruto closed the door behind them and jumped up and down slightly to warm himself up. Neither of them had been wearing coats—it seemed a little ridiculous considering they were crossing the street—and the chill air from outside was still seeping into their bones, despite the heating being relatively high in Naruto's house.

"So, breakfast, princess?"

"If you insist, dumbass."

"I do," the blond grinned. "You're in for a treat. And I can say that cause my dad made the batter."

Walking into the kitchen, Naruto pulled a bowl out of the fridge and set it on the counter. He then grabbed some oil and a pan, placing the latter on the stove and pouring a bit of the former into it before replacing it in the cupboard.

Sasuke smiled slightly, leaning back against the counter and watching Naruto work. Though the blond had said he wasn't as good of a cook as his dad, Sasuke didn't want to assume he was going to mess up, so he decided to wait and see how the first few came out before taking over. It would be kind of funny if Naruto knew how to shovel a walk when Sasuke didn't, yet Sasuke knew how to cook and Naruto didn't.

Alas, he wasn't needed in the kitchen, as was made obvious by the two perfectly round, and golden brown pancakes that made their way from pan to plate. One was pushed towards Sasuke, a fork and some genuine Canadian maple syrup within reach.

"Bon appétit." He smiled and poured more batter into the pan before moving to the cupboard to grab some peanut butter.

Sasuke had just finished his first bite of heaven when he saw Naruto destroying his own hard work. He swallowed forcefully and practically sputtered, but managed to reign himself in—Uchihas didn't sputter.

Pointing his fork accusingly at Naruto's plate, he demanded, "What are you doing?"

"Putting peanut butter on my pancake," was the easy reply, the blond continuing what he was doing, and then topping off the insult by pouring maple syrup overtop. [1]

"That's disgusting! And criminal!"

"Hey, don't diss it until you try it!" Naruto insisted. "Like me and the rice, remember? I tried the fried rice, you have to try this." He cut a piece off and held his fork out to Sasuke, hand under the dripping pancake so none of the syrup hit the counter or floor.

"I'm not eating that," Sasuke informed him, unconsciously turning his nose up at it. "I'm not."

"Just try it," Naruto insisted.

"No."

"Come on!"

"No!"

"I'll agree to anything you decide during our roleplay."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the other.

"Anything," the blond stressed.

Frowning slightly, and still suspicious, Sasuke sighed and leaned forward, letting his lips wrap around the pancake and pulling it off the other's fork, chewing it slowly. He watched Naruto smile slightly and lick the fork right after, as if savouring the taste of both the syrup and Sasuke left behind on it before digging in to his pancake again.

Sasuke had to admit, it wasn't _bad_. It wasn't good, either, but it wasn't bad. He'd been expecting the most disgusting thing in the world, but honestly, it was pretty okay.

"It's all right," he insisted grudgingly.

"It's kind of an acquired taste. My best friend always did it and made me try one day, and I haven't had pancakes without PB since."

Sasuke took another bite of his food, watching Naruto while the other spoke. He didn't seem as scared as he used to whilst talking about his friend. It confused him, and made him more suspicious.

"Is that who was on the phone?"

"Yeah. His mom's a little crazy so he gets desperate for an escape." He smiled slightly, turning to look at Sasuke. "He is _not_ a fan of you for stealing me away." He laughed.

Sasuke scowled at that, annoyed. It wasn't his fault that Naruto liked spending time with him. And really, his friend could come by while he was there, couldn't he? Was he some secret mob boss' bastard child or something? He could fucking hang out with them together.

"Sorry I'm ruining your holiday," he bit out before he could stop himself.

Naruto snorted. "Don't start, bastard. You're not, and you know it. He's not even here, and it's not like I'm a chick who can spend hours on the phone with him. He's got games, he can entertain himself." The blond flipped the pancake on the stove, and Sasuke felt a little better by his words.

"Besides," Naruto turned to grin at him, "I'm much, _much_ too busy with our games to indulge him in his."

Sasuke smirked, his mind working on what he had planned for later.

* * *

Once breakfast was done, Sasuke knew Naruto was trying to punish him for his little stunt the night before, but the irony of it was that it was clearly torturing Naruto more than it was him. They'd sat down to watch a movie, and the blond fidgeted virtually the entire time. It was like the weight of the world lifted off his shoulders when the credits finally rolled, the other stretching and standing before turning to grin at Sasuke.

"So, you had an idea, didn't you?"

"I did," the raven affirmed. "I didn't really have much of a basis behind it, but I was thinking that we're best friends, and one of us is openly gay and secretly crushing on the other. The other is kind of closet gay and thinks he might like the other, and only a night of drunkenness will ever tell."

He knew it was ballsy. He knew it was him pretty much asking Naruto for them to have sex while not actually asking him. But they'd been dancing around each other long enough. He wanted it. God knew Naruto wanted it. If neither of them just said it, they were never going to get there.

He waited half a beat for Naruto's answer, then the blond smiled slightly and shook his head. "You're serious about this? Cause we both know this is gonna start sexually and end sexually, and I'm not gonna let you have a change of heart halfway through."

Sasuke snorted, insulted. "I won't. However, I'd rather be the openly gay best friend who's sleeping peacefully in their shared apartment when you walk in completely trashed and confess your undying love for me." He smirked.

Naruto barked out a laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, you would. First things first, though."

The raven frowned when he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He watched the other turn it off, and set it on the kitchen counter. Taking the hint, Sasuke pulled his own out and texted Naruto's landline number to Itachi—in case of an emergency—then turned his phone off as well, setting it down beside Naruto's.

"All right, then." The blond grinned and motioned the stairs. "After you. Go ahead and get comfortable in my bed. I'll be up in a minute."

Smirking, Sasuke picked up his bag and headed for the stairs, then paused and turned to Naruto. "You have lube, right?"

"I'm a guy, of course I have lube."

"Just checking," Sasuke insisted with a smirk. "Never know with you."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Shaking his head, the Uchiha made his way upstairs and into Naruto's room. Closing the door behind himself, he looked around for a few seconds, and then decided to make this more realistic. Moving across the room, he drew all the curtains, trying to darken the area up a little bit, and then moved back to his bag in the corner of the room. Pulling off his jeans and shirt, he yanked on a pair of sweat pants, wanting there to be the least between them as possible, and then moved to the blond's bed.

Pulling back the covers, he got comfortable beneath them, rolling onto his stomach, and resting his head against the other's pillow. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent coming off the pillow. A scent that was purely _Naruto_. It was such a nice thing to inhale that he actually started relaxing to the point where he was dozing off slightly. It was still fairly early, and he hadn't slept as much as he would have liked, so he wasn't all that surprised.

The door slamming open and hitting the opposite wall, however, now _that_ surprised him. He jerked up, his brain slow to process what was going on due to his half-asleep state, but remembering enough to know not to be alarmed. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Naruto leaning heavily against the doorframe, his head down and bangs covering his eyes. He held an almost-empty bottle of Vodka in one hand, and Sasuke could only hope the moron hadn't been getting himself drunk for real.

"Naruto?" he asked, somewhat confused. He was both playing the part, and inquiring whether or not he'd had anything to drink. A little bit was fine, but if he was actually drunk... not cool.

A dark chuckle rumbled up the other's throat, and Sasuke felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Seriously, why wasn't Naruto an actor? He was fucking awesome—and terrifying.

"Naruto, what are you doing in here?"

"It's your fault, you know," he slurred out. It was half-forced, that much Sasuke could tell, which meant he hadn't been drinking. That was all he cared about.

"What are you talking about?" he snapped. "It's late. And you're drunk. Go to bed."

"It's your fucking fault!"

Sasuke jumped when Naruto hurled the Vodka bottle across the room, the glass shattering against the far wall. He had to stop getting so into their games, because it kind of worried Sasuke. They'd have to make sure to clean that up thoroughly or someone was going to cut themselves.

Seriously, what had Naruto been thinking?

"Jesus Christ, retard!" Sasuke shouted angrily, both acting and for real. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"Shut up!" Naruto shouted back, stumbling towards the bed. He practically fell onto it, crawling up over Sasuke's body, breathing hard. His eyes were filled with rage, and only a small smile of reassurance when Sasuke looked visibly uncomfortable calmed him down slightly. Naruto was acting. As long as he was just acting, it was okay.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" The blond ran the tip of his nose up along the side of Sasuke's face. "I was straight, you know. As an arrow."

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, shifting back slightly on the bed, but Naruto grabbed his shoulders and forced him to stay where he was.

"I was _straight_," he stressed. "And then, my best friend comes out of the closet. But you know, that was fine with me. Because you're my best friend, and you're important to me. What's you fucking guys mean to me? Nothing. But then I came home last month while your newest boytoy was here, and I heard you." His breath shuddered as he exhaled, like pleasure was coursing through his veins at the memory. The _fake_ memory.

"Fuck, I've never wanted anyone so bad after I heard the way you sounded while he was fucking you."

Sasuke was getting excited just listening to the other, and Naruto was rocking his hips.

"What are you saying?" he asked in a low voice, even though he knew he would know what the other was saying were this not a roleplay. But, for the sake of the game, he would let it stretch out a little.

"You know what I'm saying," Naruto growled, leaning up and grabbing the hair at the back of Sasuke's head, wrenching his head back. The Uchiha grunted, breathing hard and looking at Naruto through lowered lids. "You did this to me. I was perfectly happy fucking my girls, and then this happened. You just..."

He didn't finish. He just bent down and clamped his teeth down hard against Sasuke's throat. The raven cried out, arching his hips upwards and grabbing Naruto's shoulders. It hurt, but it felt so fucking good at the same time. Trust Naruto to turn him into a masochist.

He let his hands travel down the other's back, pulling at the hem of his shirt and lifting it over his head. Naruto released his neck to allow him to do so, and once the shirt was thrown across the room, he shifted to suck at Sasuke's pulse. The raven groaned, his eyes sliding shut and hands exploring the other's back. He let his lids slide upwards after a few seconds, and then frowned.

Bringing one hand up, he poked it slightly against the blue mark on the other's arm and Naruto pulled away from his neck with a hiss. Sasuke's suspicions of it being a bruise were right.

"What happened to your arm?" he inquired, onyx eyes shifting to regard the blond.

He saw Naruto looking over at the bruise, at first seeming confused, and then understanding. He licked his lips, then looked at Sasuke. Even before he opened his mouth, the Uchiha knew he was lying by the mere look on his face.

"Walked into a door."

"Must have walked into it pretty hard," he replied icily.

"What? It's not like someone punched me repeatedly in the arm or anything." Naruto cleared his throat. "Are we gonna do this?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

Naruto sighed and sat back on his haunches, eying Sasuke. "I walked into a door. Why is that so hard for you to believe? I was confused to see it, and it took me a second to remember why I had it. Come on," he reached forward, running his thumb along the other's bottom lip. "This was going so well, don't ruin it."

"Hn." Sasuke forced himself to just let it go and sat up slightly, grabbing the back of Naruto's neck and yanking him forward, kissing him heatedly while lying back down, and pulling the blond with him.

Naruto responded instantly, plundering his mouth with vigour and letting his hands run down along Sasuke's sides. He dug his nails painfully into the raven's hips, Sasuke grunting into the kiss but arching up into the touches all the same. When Naruto's hands reached the hem of his sweat pants, he groaned and rose his hips, urging the blond to hurry this along.

Pulling away from the kiss, Naruto chuckled into the other's ear, hands playing with the hem of Sasuke's pants. "Impatient, aren't you?"

"You love it," Sasuke growled back, biting harshly at Naruto's earlobe. "Hurry up, or I'll finish without you."

"Only if I let you, princess, which I never would."

Naruto pulled at his pants, and Sasuke kicked them the rest of the way off when the blond took too long, then fumbled with the other's button and fly. When he got them undone, he smirked.

"No boxers?" he asked teasingly, glancing up at the blond. Naruto grinned back.

"Figured there was no point in dirtying a pair of underwear I wouldn't be wearing for long, anyway."

"How resourceful of you." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto leaned back down to kiss him again, shifting his weight and kicking his legs out to get his pants off. The raven took that time to explore the other's torso, running his hands up and down his chest, and outlining the contours of all his muscles. The blond bit down on his bottom lip hard enough for Sasuke to taste blood, and then pulled away with a grin. Sasuke licked at his injured lip and snorted.

"Branding me or something?"

"No, I just figured you'd like to remember how rough I'm going to be."

"Promises, promises."

The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly found himself on his stomach.

"Nn, fuck!" He clenched the sheets in both hands, arching his back.

He couldn't recall ever being this excited before for sex, but Naruto seemed to be good at making him forget his inhibitions. Normally, Sasuke would have ensured that the other didn't have any STDs or anything, but realistically, they'd already given each other blowjobs so if Naruto had AIDS or something, well, Sasuke would die a happy man, he supposed.

"Impatient little fuck, aren't you?" Naruto breathed in his ear. Sasuke grunted again, hands tightening on the sheets.

"No, just wondering how small your dick is if you only need—" He cut off with a shout. "Dumbass."

"You wanted it rough, and insulting me is only going to get your wish granted," Naruto informed him, biting at the shell of his ear and tugging. "I am going to fuck you so hard, we might break my headboard."

Sasuke just snorted. "Promises, promises," he repeated. He'd believe _that_ when it happened.

He hissed and buried his face in the pillows to stop from moaning. He knew Naruto was teasing him, and waiting for him to beg for it, but Sasuke had more pride than that. He knew the blond would cave long before he did.

And of course, he was right.

After what felt like hours, Naruto leaned over Sasuke towards his bedside table. Opening it, Sasuke saw just the tip of a bottle before it was removed from his sight. Didn't take a genius to know it was lube. That or some other form of lubrication.

He felt Naruto pulling at his hips and flipped over so he was lying on his back, Naruto smirking down at him and opening the bottle he had in his hand. Sasuke snorted.

"Cooking oil? You going to fry and eat me?"

"I don't know about the frying, but you _are_ pretty tasty," Naruto grinned.

Snorting and punching Naruto lightly in the arm, he tried to look anywhere than at what the other was doing, if only because he didn't want it to excite him even more. The blond's lubricated hand moved down and Naruto groaned, his eyes sliding shut and his head falling back.

When Sasuke felt he was being ignored, he smacked the other in the side, annoyed, and Naruto looked back down at him with a grin.

"Feeling left out?" he teased.

"Shall I leave you and your hand alone together?" he grunted back, scowling.

"Temper, temper."

Grinning, Naruto put the bottle down on his nightstand and leaned down to kiss Sasuke once more. Sasuke grunted in response, arching up, and tangling his fingers in the other's blond hair. He pulled him closer, deepening the kiss, and sucking lewdly on the other's tongue.

"Do it," he ordered, thrusting his hips upwards. "Do it!"

"So impatient," Naruto chuckled again, then pressed his lips insistently against Sasuke's.

The raven felt the other shift and groaned, but then Naruto stilled. He froze, even his tongue pausing in its tangling for a split second. Growling deep in his throat, Sasuke tried to force Naruto to get on with it, but before he could manage that, the blond shifted against his thigh and rocked his hips.

The Uchiha was furious, and kept trying to break the kiss to demand to know what the fuck the other was playing at, but Naruto grabbed his chin with one hand, and his right hip with the other, and continued to plunder his mouth.

Sasuke finished before Naruto did, and once the blond followed, he finally broke the kiss, burying his face in the raven's neck and breathing hard.

While he was catching his breath, the Uchiha shoved him off him and stormed angrily into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him hard enough for the frame to crack. He didn't care. He just wanted to know why the fuck Naruto was playing these stupid games with him.

And when he was going to fucking _stop_.

* * *

To say that dinner was awkward would have been an understatement. Sasuke hadn't felt like cooking—and really, could he be blamed?—so they'd ordered pizza and sat down to watch a movie. Naruto kept glancing over at him, but Sasuke refused to look back. He was too annoyed, and way too angry.

He knew Naruto was fucking with him. Not _fucking_ him, clearly, but fucking _with_ him. He was the one who instigated all of these stupid games, and made them go so far Sasuke was certain that they were literally going to rip each other's clothes off one day and screw like rabbits, and when the day finally came, Naruto backed out.

He was _there_! Right fucking there! He'd been all set and then—nothing. Abso-fucking-lutely _nothing_! Was it too much to ask to just get fucked?

"Why are you so mad?" Naruto finally demanded when the credits began to roll. "You're acting like a girl."

"Fuck you, Uzumaki," Sasuke snapped angrily, turning to glare at him. "I'm sick of all your fucking games."

"What games?" Naruto demanded, turning so he was facing Sasuke. "I fucking chickened out, is that a crime?"

The Uchiha glanced at him, and saw him biting the inside of his cheek. He might not know Naruto very well, but he knew him enough to know that he was lying. He hadn't chickened out. Besides, given the other's usual behaviour when they were alone, having Naruto chicken out during a sexual act was almost laughable.

"You didn't chicken out," he said in a low voice. "Stop lying to me."

"Fine, then at the risk of sounding like a girl, maybe I wanted it to mean something."

Another lie, but at least that was a harder one to spot, which meant it had to be closer to the truth.

"Explain," Sasuke ordered.

"I don't want us to be roleplaying when we fuck for the first time. Sure, we started out and then it became us, but wouldn't you prefer us to just like—go out, get drunk, come home, pass out, wake up, and then have hangover sex or something?"

Sasuke stared at him. "Given our respective states when we're hung over, what makes you think that would be a good idea?"

Naruto laughed slightly, smiling. "Touche, but that was just an example. You know what I mean." He reached out and punched Sasuke in the arm. "Bear with me, all right?"

"What's stopping us from doing it right now, then?"

He saw fear flash through Naruto's eyes, and a part of him honestly had to wonder if the blond was a virgin, and everything he did was just for show, or something. Because why a guy would be afraid of sex, he had no idea.

"Because you're mad," the blond blurted out quickly.

"Angry sex is the best kind of sex."

"Not for me," Naruto insisted. "I'm not an angry person by nature."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "Yeah? Say that to the vodka bottle currently in a million pieces on your bedroom floor."

"Oh." Naruto looked over his shoulder, through the living room door towards the stairs. "Right. I forgot about that."

"You get way too involved in our games. It's actually a little terrifying."

Naruto turned to smirk at him. "Did I scare you, little princess?" He reached out to rub his thumb along Sasuke's bottom lip, and the raven slapped his hand aside irritably.

"Let's just say I never want to get you mad." Sasuke snorted, turning back to the television when the menu screen for their movie popped back up. He watched the background image for a few seconds before sighing and raking his hand through his hair. "So what now?"

"Now," Naruto said with a grin, getting on his hands and knees and shifting closer to Sasuke. The raven shifted away slightly, concerned with the look in the other's eye. "I make up for upsetting you while we put on another movie. Then we'll go to bed and see how much more making up I can do."

Sasuke half-smirked, rolling his eyes and getting comfortable with his back against the side of the couch, Naruto crawling up between his legs.

"You have a lot of making up to do, dumbass."

"Mm, but that's the best part, princess."

"Stop calling me that," Sasuke sighed, annoyed.

Then Naruto bent down to kiss him again, and he almost forgave him for the stupid nickname.

Almost.

The rest of the night—that was going to take more than one kiss to fix.

* * *

**I'm working on commissions between chapters of this or it'd be going faster QQ But I'll try to be prompt. ish. I don't sleep anymore.**

[1]Fuck y'all, that shit's good, all right? SHUT UP RAE, YOU LIKED IT!


	9. The Phonecall

**AN: ... I got nothing. Except I really need to get started checking my email again |D**

**Discalimer: Stiiiill belong to K. Masashi...**

* * *

Naruto was beyond tired when he woke up the next morning. It was a good kind of tired, but tired nonetheless. And in some respects, also a bad kind of tired since he was so hard, he was surprised his unconscious humping against Sasuke's ass hadn't woken the other up.

Rolling over and stretching, he let out a huge yawn before shaking his head and sitting up, running one hand through his hair and turning to look at Sasuke. The raven slept on, his back to Naruto, and the blond stood to head to the bathroom. Relieving himself, he brushed his teeth, then grabbed a random shirt left hanging on the back of his bathroom door, yanking it on and moving back into his room.

He figured he might as well let Sasuke sleep, it was only ten in the morning, and he knew for a fact he'd worn the other out the night before. Smirking at the thought, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and moved towards the door.

He tried to think of what to make for breakfast, since they'd already gone the pancakes route, and still hadn't thought of anything by the time he reached the kitchen. Cereal was so boring, and they'd had bacon and eggs recently. Maybe they had some frozen waffles.

Digging through the freezer, he cursed when he realized Kiba had wolfed down the last of the Eggos before Sasuke had arrived across the street. Great. So not only was the bastard a cockblocker, he was also a food thief.

_Speaking of Kiba,_ Naruto thought, glancing at the stairs and pulling out his phone. If he called the other sooner rather than later, he wouldn't have to listen to the retard bitch and moan about how he was being ignored all day.

Hitting the speed dial for his friend, he put the phone to his ear and continued digging through the freezer. Maybe Kiba had spared one lone Eggo for Sasuke to eat.

The line rang five times before it finally clicked. _"Someone better be dying..."_

"From the sounds of it, you," Naruto said with a grin. "Hey, did you eat all my Eggos?" The question was an afterthought, but while he had him on the phone, he figured he may as well ask.

The question got him hung up on. He snorted, hit speed dial again, and waited.

"_Seriously, I will fucking kill you, fucknut. You didn't call me to ask me about your fucking Eggos." _

"I didn't, actually, that was an afterthought." Naruto pouted slightly, pulling himself from the freezer and shivering. "What can I eat for breakfast aside from pancakes, Eggos and eggs?"

He heard a long pause, and realized Kiba was about to hang up on him again.

"I didn't call just for this! I'm asking just because I happen to have you on the phone."

"_Dude, seriously? It's ten in the morning. Why are you even awake? What can I do to change that so that you let __**me**__ go back to sleep?"_

"Come on, work with me," Naruto sighed, switching the phone from his right ear to his left. "Breakfast food?"

"_Fuck, I don't know, dude,"_ Kiba said in a clearly exasperated tone. _"Oatmeal?"_

"Oh, oatmeal," Naruto repeated, nodding thoughtfully. "I like it. I like it. Give me something else."

Another pause.

"_Dude, I am going to fucking hang up on you. Good bye." _

"No, no, no, no, no! Wait! Okay, I'm sorry! How are you?"

"_... Sleeping!"_

"You always call me at inopportune times, dude," Naruto insisted, sticking his head in the fridge, now. "It's my turn. Speaking of inopportune times, you fucking suck. You're cockblocking me, man."

A longer pause, but this time, Naruto knew it wasn't the 'right before a hang up' kind.

"_Coc—what? I'm not even __**there**__! How is that even physically possible?"_ Kiba sounded as adorably confused as Naruto was sure he looked. Oh Kiba. Poor, naive Kiba.

"Because!" Naruto huffed, getting annoyed just remembering the previous day. "I didn't fuck Sasuke because of you."

Naruto was willing to bet his allowance for the year that Kiba had just choked on his own saliva.

"_Dude, you're going crazy!"_ the Inuzuka insisted, still coughing slightly. _"The batshit kind. What the fuck do I have to do with you and your boyfriend fucking?"_

"Uh, you're the one who said if I fuck him, you meet him." Naruto opened some tuppaware to sniff what was inside and hastily shut it, making a face and putting it back in the fridge. "So I got cockblocked."

"_Uh, then let me meet him? And stop thinking about me while you're having sex, dude, that's fuckin' gross."_

"I can't help it," Naruto teased with a grin. "Just thinking of your smooth, caramel-coloured flesh and—he hung up again." Naruto snickered, pulling the phone away from his ear and shaking his head. Kiba was too much fun to fuck with. He could just imagine the horror on the other's face when he made out with Sasuke in front of him, maybe even adding in some dirty talk and—

The blond cut his thought off midway, staring at the floor and wincing. Right, it was so easy to just imagine everything working out, but having it actually work out was another matter entirely.

Flipping his phone between his hands, he winced again and then pulled it open, dialling a familiar number and putting it back to his ear. It rang three times before the line clicked, the tail-end of laughter clearly audible.

"_Good morning. You're up early,"_ his father said jovially, clearly having a good time with his wife and new friends.

"Hey dad. Um, can you talk?"

"_Naruto, is everything okay?" _

The blond smiled a little, sitting at the kitchen table. His father's voice was immediately laced with concern, and that was why he loved talking to him about things like this. Well, mostly his dad was the only voice of reason he had in his life—was that so surprising considering his mother and best friend?—so when things happened, he really needed him.

"Yeah, everything's okay, I'm just... Thinking, I guess."

"_Everything okay with Sasuke?"_

"It's fine, yeah," he reassured him. "He's sleeping. So was Kiba until I—called him to ask where my Eggos went."

"_Your mother ate them."_

Aw, and here he'd accused his best friend of being an Eggo thief when it was his mother all along. He'd have to apologize to Kiba later.

"Good to know," he said with a smile.

"_I'm assuming you didn't call me to tell me Sasuke and Kiba were both sleeping, though."_

"Well, I don't know, I mean, I called Kiba to ask if he finished off my Eggos." Naruto chuckled.

"_Yes, but I like to think I know you better. What's on your mind?"_

Looking down at the table, he sighed and started drawing random patterns with his forefinger, focussing on the feel of the wood beneath his skin.

"I don't like doing this," he admitted in a low voice. "I don't like lying to them. Keeping things from them. Kiba's my best friend, but dad, you gotta know how this'll turn out. He won't get it. And Sasuke—he doesn't know me well enough to not get mad and try and work it out."

He heard his father sigh on the other end, and could picture him rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. _"Well, son, like I said before, I don't think you're giving them enough credit. Now I can't speak for Sasuke, but I've known Kiba as long as you have, and I don't think something like this is going to destroy decades of friendship. Besides,"_ he heard a teasing tone enter his father's voice, _"we both know Kiba wouldn't be able to make any other friends."_

Naruto laughed, shaking his head, but silently agreeing. It was true. He loved Kiba, he really did, but he knew he was the only one patient enough to put up with the guy.

The laughter slowly died down, and he was back to thinking what he had been before calling his father.

"I don't know what to do," he finally said in a low voice, staring down at the table.

"_Well, you're gonna have to tell them eventually."_

Yeah, he knew that, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Lose his best friend, lose his boyfriend, or lose both. Some choices.

"I know," he finally said. "But—eventually isn't _now_."

"_Eventually isn't never, either." _Trust his dad to bring him back to reality.

"Right." He sighed. "I should let you get back. How's your game?"

"_Your mother's kicking my ass."_

"Only because she's had more practice hitting things," Naruto replied with a laugh. "Don't tell her I said that."

"_Can't promise that,"_ his father replied, clearly grinning. _"We'll see you tonight."_

"Yeah. Bye, dad."

"_Be good."_

"Dad," Naruto whined, shaking his head. "Bye!" He hung up before his father had any other ridiculous hopes for him.

Rolling his eyes, he let his forehead rest lightly against the table and took a deep breath. Whenever he thought too much, he always liked to do some kind of physical activity, which usually included sit-ups, push-ups, and beating the crap out of his punching bag.

Since Sasuke was still sleeping, he figured he'd do the next best thing so, standing, he shoved his phone into the pocket of his sweats and grabbed his jacket from the front hall. He knew he was probably going to be cold until he really got going with the shovelling, but he could handle it.

Getting his boots on, he moved out onto the front porch and grabbed the shovel off the side of the house before moving towards the driveway.

As much as Sasuke seemed to hate it, Naruto felt it was kind of therapeutic. He didn't have to do anything when he shovelled. Pick up snow, dump out, repeat. It was easy to think things over in his head, or just kind of get into a zombie-like trance where his only goal in life was to clear the walkway of snow—if only to get to dead body parts beneath it. Because clearly, that was all zombies wanted. They didn't shovel snow for nothing!

He was almost done his driveway when the door across the street opened and Itachi stepped out with a cup of coffee in one hand, and a book in the other. Breathing hard due to his attempted speed, Naruto straightened, pain twinging his lower back, and offered the other a head nod in greeting.

"Good morning," Itachi replied easily, stepping out into the snow. The boots he had on over his black sweat pants barely reached high enough to stop the white powder from hitting the rim.

"Morning."

"Where's that incompetent brother of mine?"

Snorting, Naruto motioned the house, flicking sweat-soaked hair from his eyes. "Sleeping."

"Hm. Figures. Hopefully he'll have breakfast waiting for you, like a good housewife."

Naruto laughed, shaking his head. "What happened to me being his pet?"

"You reminded me one too many times that you're not." Itachi shrugged almost imperceptibly, and took a sip of his coffee. "Would you like to do my walk next? My parents will want a clean driveway when they get home, and Lord knows I won't do it."

Grinning, the blond dug the shovel into the ground and leaned his free arm against it, shaking his head at Itachi. "Now why, pray tell, would I do a favour for you?"

Itachi eyed him for a few seconds, then a smirk twitched up the corners of his mouth. "Careful, Uzumaki. You never know when you might need a favour from _me_."

The way he said it wasn't threatening, but the first thing Naruto thought of was Itachi looking out the window at him when Kiba had left his house the other day. And watching the older Uchiha sip his coffee with a knowing look before disappearing back into the house...

Lets just say Naruto didn't want to get stuck not being owed any favours.

So five minutes later, with his own driveway done, he trudged across the street to clear off the Uchiha's, half-wondering if Sasuke was being a lazy ass and just pretending to sleep while actually watching him from the window.

* * *

Surprisingly, when Naruto was finished and back in the house, he went to his room to find Sasuke _still_ sleeping, even though it was well past noon. Bringing one hand to his stomach when it growled, he sighed and walked into the room, falling down on the bed beside Sasuke.

The action caused the other to wake with a start, tired onyx eyes turning to look at him, annoyed, before closing again and snuggling into the pillow. Naruto was sure Sasuke would deny the snuggling, but really, that was the only way to describe the other's face pushing itself into the fluffy mound.

"Mm, you stink," Sasuke breathed sleepily, then inhaled deeply. Naruto chuckled.

"I just cleared off two driveways, of course I stink."

"Two?" One eye peeked open to regard him. "Mine?"

"No, Tinker Bell's." He leaned forward to kiss Sasuke's forehead. "Of course yours."

"Could have waited for me."

Naruto smiled. Even though he knew Sasuke was saying it mostly to be polite, it still felt nice to hear. Proved that he wasn't just hired help in the other's eyes. "Nah. Your brother owes me, now."

"Mm. Good thing to have, a favour from Itachi," Sasuke agreed, inhaling deeply again. "Wish I had one."

"You could always shovel the walk for him," Naruto offered with a grin, cocking his head and staring at the other. He looked really good in the bright light shining through his window.

"Not how it works." Rolling onto his back, Sasuke stretched, opening his eyes again and rubbing his bare chest. "What time is it?"

"Late-ish, I guess." A feral grin spread across the blond's face. "Must have worn you out something fierce last night."

Sasuke snorted. "Don't flatter yourself." With a grunt, he stood, rubbing the back of his head, and clearly ignoring Naruto's snickers.

His hair had deflated in the night, and it looked funny all smooshed down how it was. Naruto could laugh, but he certainly wasn't going to risk saying anything. He wanted to get laid—eventually. When his cockblocking ass of a best friend let him get fucking laid.

"You eat?"

Sasuke's question snapped him out of his angry musings about Kiba, and he shook his head, standing again and stretching.

"Nah, I was waiting on you. And I didn't know what to make. My mom's an Eggo thief, so I was out of breakfast ideas."

"There's always oatmeal."

_Huh, that's exactly what Kiba said..._ Naruto couldn't help but note the small similarity. It was tiny, and pretty much insignificant, but anything was something, in Naruto's mind.

"I don't have any," he finally said, Sasuke disappearing into the bathroom. "But I was thinking we could go out and get, I don't know, pizza or sushi or something."

"How did you go from pizza to sushi?" Sasuke appeared in the doorway, looking amused.

Naruto pouted internally and crossed his arms. "Well, maybe I wanted sushi-covered pizza, you don't know, do you?"

"I suppose not, though that sounds ridiculously disgusting."

"Said the man who wouldn't try peanut butter on pancakes!"

Sasuke smirked at him. "Says the man who insisted rice was being ruined when I started frying it."

Naruto opened his mouth to answer, then snapped it shut. "Touché."

The Uchiha gave him a knowing look, then disappeared back into the bathroom, which Naruto took as his cue to head downstairs to find them something to eat, since sushi-covered pizza wasn't an option Sasuke seemed too keen on. Too bad, Naruto would've liked to try it.

The only thing he could find ready-made were frozen burritos in the freezer, but he honestly wasn't sure how long they'd been there, so he didn't think they should be eating them. Best to test things that might have freezer burn on his mother, first.

"What are you looking for?"

He turned when Sasuke entered the kitchen, wearing—sadly—more clothing than he had been the last time he'd seen him, and his hair back in its usual duck-butt style.

"Edible food," the blond replied, looking helplessly at the fridge. "Anything at your place we could steal?"

"Probably." Sasuke turned to look out the front window and smirked. "Good thing you shovelled both the walks, otherwise I'd have sent my pet out to get the food."

"I thought we'd agreed you were the pet," Naruto retorted with a playful grin.

"_You_ agreed. I just let you think I did to keep you in your place."

"Ouch, touché again. You're on a roll this morning."

Moving across the kitchen, he pressed his lips to Sasuke's briefly, then took his hand and tugged him towards the door so they could go over to his place, and hopefully find more food. Shoving his feet into his boots, he pulled open the door and danced on the spot for a few seconds when the cold air hit him, waiting on Sasuke. The two of them darted across the street and into the safety of the other house's warmth, Naruto stamping his feet on the welcome mat inside the front entrance before removing his boots.

Itachi came down the stairs while they were still taking off their shoes, obviously to make sure he wasn't being robbed. He cocked an eyebrow at them, and Naruto just grinned.

"We're here to steal your food."

"By all means, there isn't much." Turning, he headed back up the stairs, Sasuke pushing past Naruto to lead the way to the kitchen, as if the blond didn't already know where it was.

Following along, he let Sasuke start looking through the cupboards while he moved to the fridge, pulling it open and sticking his head inside to find something edible. Where was his dad when he needed him?

Oh right. Golfing.

Letting out an annoyed huff, he closed the fridge and opened the freezer, perking up slightly before pulling out the sealed bag of hot dogs. Turning around, he held them up so Sasuke could see, and the raven shrugged.

"I think I saw some buns," he informed the blond, turning back around to rummage through a cupboard. Naruto grinned lecherously.

"I've got me some buns, for sure."

Sasuke turned to glare at him over his shoulder, then threw a bag of hot dog buns at him, the blond catching them.

"Score. I've got some ketchup and cheese whiz at my place." He started back for the door, but Sasuke grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Did you really just say cheese whiz?"

"Uh, yes?"

Sighing, the raven shook his head. "Peanut butter on pancakes. Cheese whiz on hot dogs. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You love what's wrong with me," Naruto said with a grin, leaning forward to press his lips to the other's again. This time, he lingered, sucking on Sasuke's bottom lip for a few seconds before kissing him again.

When he started to pull away, Sasuke's hand shot up and tangled in his hair, pulling him forward again. Grinning internally, Naruto let his tongue lazily explore the other's mouth for a few seconds before pulling away again, this time being allowed to.

Smiling and letting the tip of his nose bump the tip of Sasuke's, he took a step back and started for the door again, the Uchiha following behind him.

They got their boots on and hurried back across the street to make their meal. Sasuke apparently didn't trust Naruto enough to let him boil the water for the meat, so the blond got to sit on the counter and watch his 'woman' work.

And he reminded Sasuke of that fact.

Every twenty seconds.

"If you don't stop calling me your woman, Naruto, I'm going to turn you into one."

"What do you mean?" The blond cocked his head to one side, frowning.

Sasuke just stared at him, and Naruto's face fell when it set in.

"I'm not too worried," he insisted, though the way he unconsciously covered his crotch suggested otherwise. "After all, you'd miss it too much."

"Wouldn't know, you haven't fucked me with it yet."

Naruto sighed. "Stop one-upping me, Sasuke. It makes me feel stupid."

Never mind that he actually was, but the Uchiha didn't need to know that...

* * *

"You know what's weird?" Sasuke inquired while he and Naruto walked across the street back to the Uchiha's house.

"What's that?" the blond asked, hands shoved in his pockets and all the muscles in his back tense from the cold. He stopped at the end of the Uchiha's driveway, Sasuke turning to look at him.

"All that alone time, and not once did we do anything dirty anywhere inappropriate." He eyed Naruto suspiciously. "You just like fucking me over in my own house, don't you?"

A grin slid onto the blond's face. "You caught me. The only people I want catching us being dirty are your parents." He leaned forward to kiss Sasuke, but the raven snorted and shoved him back with a hand in his face.

"Good night, dumbass."

"No good night kiss?" Naruto pouted, ignoring the phone vibrating in his pocket.

"No, you're still on probation for yesterday." Sasuke walked backwards, shoving his own hands in his pockets. "You better make it up to me."

"I will," the blond promised, hand tightening around his ringing phone. "Promise."

"Hn."

Turning, Sasuke waved over his shoulder once before disappearing into the house. Naruto turned towards his own home, pulling his still vibrating phone out. Kiba had been calling him repeatedly for the past two minutes. It was why Naruto had finally decided it was time to say good night to Sasuke. His parents returning right before the calls started had certainly helped.

"Christ, _what_?" he bellowed into the phone, stomping back across the street angrily, his footsteps muffled by the snow.

"_Fina-fucking-lly! Dude, what if I was dying? What if I was on my God damn death bed and you wouldn't answer the phone?" _

"You're obviously not close enough to death for my taste," Naruto snapped, slamming the front door behind himself loud enough for his mother to let out a shout of shock. She walked out of the kitchen and he shrugged an apology at her.

"_Thanks, fucknut. Good to know our friendship is so important to you. Maybe I should rescind my Christmas present for you."_

"You already got me a Christmas present," he reminded him, moving up to his room and sighing, rubbing the back of his neck. It had been a long two weeks. His patience and nerves were both wearing thin.

"_Yeah, well, this one is both for you and for me. Guess who's in fucking Paris right now?"_

"I don't feel like playing this game, Kiba," the blond sighed, sitting on his bed, then falling backwards, staring up at his ceiling.

"_Fine, stick in the mud. All That Remains is in fuckin' Paris!"_

Naruto jerked into a sitting position, hand gripping the phone so hard it almost hurt and eyes wide. "Fuck off!" He stood up. "Oh my God, are you serious?"

"_Yeah, dude! And guess whose mother is the most amazing mother in the whole wide fuckin' world and got her baby boy some tickets for him and his best mother fuckin' friend—who doesn't ever answer his phone anymore?" _

"Fuck _off_!" Naruto shouted, a grin so huge on his face it almost hurt. "Shit! Are you serious?"

"_Yeah, man! We're fuckin' going to a concert tomorrow! Hidan's gonna come and get you around noonish, so make sure you're packed and shit, okay? The concert's gonna end late, so momma wants you to stay here for the night. We'll have you back to your girlfriend by morning, promise." _

"Fuck me." The blond covered his mouth, still grinning.

"_No thanks, but good to know you haven't changed __**too**__ much,"_ Kiba teased, then chuckled a little. _"So I take it you're in?"_

"Hells to the yeah I'm in!" Naruto let out a whoop and punched the air. "I'll see you tomorrow when I get there. And tell your mom she's an angel."

"_Yeah—not going that far. I'll tell her you say thanks though."_

"Sweet. Later, dude."

"_Mm hm. You owe me for ignoring me, retard."_

The line went dead.

Naruto grinned like a fucking idiot.


	10. The Father

**AN: Idk -rolls around- **

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches. **

* * *

Waking up by getting hit in the face with a newspaper definitely wasn't what Sasuke had in mind when he knew that consciousness was going to hit him eventually. Of course, Itachi never was someone who would be nice to his little brother—not obviously, anyway.

"Get up, driveway needs shovelling," the older teen called before disappearing.

And of course, all Sasuke thought about that was that Itachi was being a rat-bastard, because why else would he hit him in the face with a newspaper?

Throwing it angrily to the ground, Sasuke stood and shuffled into his bathroom, glancing across the room to look out his window, mostly out of habit. He stopped and stood staring for a few seconds when he found Naruto doing pull-ups, his back to the window so that all Sasuke could see were his muscles shifting with each pull. He smirked to himself, pleased to know the fine specimen across the street belonged to him, and continued into the bathroom.

Relieving himself and then brushing his teeth, he pulled on a pair of jeans and a random shirt and made his way downstairs. Grunting a good morning to his mother, he put on his boots and shuffled into the garage, hitting the button and watching it lumber upwards. Grabbing the shovel, he sighed and stepped out towards the driveway, glaring at the ground angrily before looking up at the sky.

"You're punishing me for how long my showers are, aren't you?" he muttered to Mother Nature, shaking his head and beginning to shovel.

He knew he could very easily walk across the street and knock on Naruto's door to get him to help, but somehow that felt cheap. Naruto wasn't his hired help, he was his boyfriend, and truth be told—Sasuke kind of liked how normal they were together. Sasuke wasn't some rich guy with a chauffer, a butler and a maid to do everything for him. Here, he was just like anyone else. While he knew Naruto wasn't rich like him, the guy definitely wasn't poor, either, if his parents could afford a winter home.

Maybe they even _were_ almost as rich, but hadn't wanted Naruto to grow up like—well, like Sasuke. Spoiled. And as much as Sasuke hated to admit it, he _was_ spoiled. Naruto was deliciously normal, and the Uchiha really liked that about him.

So, for today, he was just going to shovel the walk on his own, and not think about asking the blond God across the street to help him.

He was almost done when something hit him in the back of the head and he turned to glare at Itachi. He was standing on the porch with a cup of coffee in one hand, the other pushing itself into his pocket.

"Breakfast is ready. Dad says you can finish in a second."

"I'm almost done, I'll be right in," he returned, then continued what he was doing. He heard Itachi walk over to grab whatever he'd thrown—Sasuke noticed when he turned slightly that it was the newspaper again—then the older Uchiha walked back into the house.

About five minutes later, Sasuke returned the shovel to its spot in the garage and walked into the house, removing his boots and jacket before entering the dining room. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw a toasted bagel on a plate, with some cream cheese sitting on the table. No one had _made_ him breakfast, he'd been expecting pancakes or eggs or something.

He couldn't help but be suspicious, sitting down slowly and looking around as if someone was going to jump out and stab him. All he could think was that Itachi had done this, but why, he had no idea. And his parents were nowhere to be seen, so how his dad had said he could finish later... something was up.

Spreading cream cheese over half of the bagel, he started to take a bite when something hit him across the back of the head again and he turned to throw the bagel at his brother, just barely pleased when he caught it cream-cheese side up.

"What is your problem?"

"Nothing," Itachi replied evenly, then walked into the kitchen to get rid of the bagel.

Sasuke growled angrily and started to turn back around when his eyes caught sight of the paper. It was a little wet, which meant it was the same one as outside. He couldn't help but remember how many times he'd gotten hit with it and, suspicious, he picked it up and flipped it open. He found what was so important on the third page.

Again, Itachi was never openly nice. Especially not to Sasuke. So simply handing him the paper or telling him about what was in it wouldn't be his style. Hitting him repeatedly with it until Sasuke saw it—it was just the right level of mean to counteract the niceness of what he was trying to do.

And being Uchihas, of course, Itachi would never acknowledge he'd done it on purpose to show Sasuke the third page. So Sasuke, naturally, didn't thank him for it.

"Is dad up?"

"Yeah. I think he's in his study." Itachi walked out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee—probably the same one as before, reheated.

"Hn."

Sasuke finished his breakfast alone, Itachi moving back upstairs to do God knew what in his room. When he was done, the raven picked his plate up and put it in the sink, then moved towards the stairs to go talk to his dad.

Knocking on the door, he entered when he received the affirmative to do so, then moved to stand beside his father. "Dad, would you mind if I went to Paris tonight? With Naruto?"

His father didn't usually mind, especially not when he was engrossed in his work, but it was always safer to ask when a large sum of money was about to disappear from his bank account.

"Hm?" Fugaky asked, distracted. "Why?"

"There's this concert there. It's a band I really like, and I was thinking of taking Naruto. Kind of like a Christmas present."

"Sure, whatever you like," his father said, waving his hand slightly in dismissal.

Sasuke snorted, but supposed he should be thankful for the easiness of the task. He was about to leave the room when he saw a bunch of newspaper clippings under some of his dad's work. He moved closer and shifted the pages off, looking at them.

He smiled a little, making sure to wipe it off his face immediately so his dad wouldn't see, when he noticed it was newspaper articles and pictures of him and Itachi. Being part of the Uchiha family, they unfortunately ranked close to movie-star for some odd reason. He supposed that was true of every huge corporation, but he'd never known he was in the paper so much, nor had he known his father saved the clippings.

Pulling one out from his first day of university—Itachi had one arm wrapped around him and the other held out towards the camera to block the shot—he noticed another picture underneath, and frowned. Pulling it out, he stared at the image of an imposing-looking woman walking across the street with a teenager who had both hands in his pockets, a baseball cap, and his head down. Beside the teen, he saw Naruto.

"Who's this?"

"Hm?" Fugaku turned to look at what he was looking at, then snatched the article from his hand. "No one. I saved it because I thought you might like a picture of Naruto for when you go home."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, not sure what to make of that statement, but just shrugged and looked through some of the pictures for a few more minutes before leaving the room.

Walking down the stairs, he pulled on his jacket and boots again and headed out the door. When he looked up, there was an unfamiliar black car in Naruto's driveway, and a man with white, slicked back hair was putting a backpack into the trunk. Naruto was standing on his porch talking to his parents.

Frowning, Sasuke made his way down the driveway, and saw Minato motion him. Naruto turned, and grinned, waving before turning back to his parents and kissing his mother's cheek. Turning, he ran down the driveway to meet Sasuke in the middle of the street.

"Hey, I was just about to come over."

"Going somewhere?" Sasuke couldn't help the iciness in his tone, but hoped Naruto hadn't noticed.

If he did, he didn't comment on it.

"Yeah, just for the night. I'll be back tomorrow." He grinned. "Don't miss me too much. Should I leave you a picture to jack off to?"

Snorting, Sasuke punched him in the arm, some of his defensiveness lowering a little. "Where you going?"

"Ah, just to France for a while. Christmas shopping for my mum."

Sasuke was pretty sure that was a lie, but he tried not to let it get to him. Besides, it wasn't like he was a lie-detector, maybe Naruto just didn't feel comfortable telling him where he was going and why.

"You're going to France? That's kind of cool, maybe I can go with you."

Naruto's face paled considerably, and Sasuke became suspicious again, but he continued nonetheless.

"There's this concert in Paris by this band, All That Remains? It's tonight, and I'm pretty sure I could get us tickets. I was thinking we could go as like, I don't know, my Christmas present for you or something."

The blond opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at a complete loss for words, and only a very loud, very long honk from the car in his driveway jerked him out of his momentary shock. He turned to look at the car, then looked back at Sasuke.

"I'm sorry, but I-I can't. I would have loved to go with you, no word of a lie, but I can't."

"Oh." Sasuke wished he could say he was disappointed, but given he knew that would be Naruto's answer, it was hard to be too crushed. He _was_ kind of pissed Naruto was lying to him, though. "Want some company? I could probably get some stuff together in less than five minutes if your driver's willing to wait."

Another long and angry honk suggested he really wasn't, but it wasn't like he could leave without Naruto, so if he went with Sasuke to get some stuff, they'd still have a ride when they came back out.

The blond glanced at the car again, and when he looked back at Sasuke, he kept his eyes on the ground.

"Sorry, I'm—I gotta go. I'm gonna be late so..." He leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly, then turned and ran for the car. He got into the back and seconds later, the driver backed out, almost taking out Sasuke in the process.

The Uchiha glared after the car angrily—not only at the driver, but at Naruto, too—then kicked at a pile of snow before turning to go back to his house.

"Sasuke."

He was startled when Minato spoke, turning to look at the man walking towards him with a kind smile. He nodded hello, and shifted his weight, feeling somewhat awkward since he hadn't really spoken to the guy much aside from during dinner that one night.

"Sorry about Naruto taking off on you," the man said, looking down the street after the car, as if silently telling his son off. "He's not very good with juggling."

Sasuke frowned. "Juggling?"

Minato chuckled and slapped him on the shoulder. "I was going to go into town with Naruto later to get some more firewood. Seeing as how he's not here, I was thinking maybe you and I could go."

The raven's eyebrow cocked in confusion. Why was Naruto's dad asking him to go out shopping? If the guy popped the "what are your intentions with my son" question, Sasuke was out of this relationship.

"Uh..." A speechless Uchiha. That was new.

"I promise it'll be harmless. And I'll tell you anything you wanna know about Naruto." He grinned at him, and it was so like his boyfriend's that he found himself nodding before consciously agreeing that he would go.

"Great. Let me just get my good coat." Minato turned to head back inside, then paused and looked back at Sasuke. "Feel free to invite your brother, if you like."

Sasuke definitely didn't want his brother coming, so as awkward and weird as it would be, he'd go to town with Minato.

How bad could it be?

* * *

"I still don't understand," Sasuke said slowly, picking at what was left of his grilled chicken. He had a smirk on his face, but he still didn't get it. "I still don't understand how someone like you..."

"How someone like me ended up with someone like Kushina?" Minato finished for him, taking a sip of his water. He laughed afterwards, putting it down and picking up his fork to finish up his pasta. "Well, I guess the same could be said for how you and Naruto ended up together."

_True,_ Sasuke silently agreed.

Hanging out with Minato hadn't been as weird or awkward as Sasuke had anticipated. The guy was surprisingly normal, considering how psychotic his son was, though he'd noticed that before during their dinner. Still, he couldn't help but worry the blond man was going to randomly jump on him or say something perverted every now and then, because he looked _so_ much like Naruto.

They were sitting having dinner now, in one of the restaurants in the mall. Kushina had called to complain about not being fed, and he promised he'd stop on the way to get something for her. Sasuke had called his own family to tell them not to wait for him, and Itachi had complained about being stuck alone with their parents. Sasuke hung up on him, not feeling the need to listen to his brother whine.

"Naruto kind of tricked me into our relationship, I think," Sasuke admitted with a smile, taking another bite of his food.

"Who do you think he learned it from?" Minato cocked an eyebrow pointedly, and Sasuke laughed, shaking his head.

"Can I ask you something?" the raven asked almost hesitantly, glancing up at Minato. The other man nodded, taking another sip of his drink. "How did you react when—did you care? About Naruto's orientation?"

Minato wiped his mouth with his napkin before putting it down and smiling at Sasuke. "No, I didn't care. Naruto's my son, and what he does and who he loves isn't any of my business. As long as he's happy, and healthy, and safe, that's all that matters. That's all that should matter to a parent."

"Not all parents share your views," Sasuke said in a low voice, putting his fork down and pushing his plate away a little bit.

His father hadn't reacted badly; his father hadn't reacted at all, actually. Sasuke was sure he hadn't really noticed until this Christmas, even though he'd been gay for years. Same with Itachi. He never said anything about it, he didn't even acknowledge it.

"Maybe not, but yours do."

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, glancing up at Minato.

"Your father and I, we're not so different, you know. Maybe how we are with our sons differs, but as people, we're fairly similar. He's a very smart man, and despite what his actions might suggest, he loves his family. He works hard because he wants to make sure when you and your brother take over the company, it's still doing well and he doesn't leave you with a crumbling empire."

"That may be so, but has it occurred to him that doing that for us might not mean as much as having him around?" Sasuke shrugged, trying to get rid of the feelings of guilt creeping up from his gut. "I bet he doesn't know my favourite colour."

"I don't know Naruto's." Minato shrugged. "Things like that aren't really important to parents. But the thing that is, is the fact that every year, they take you away for Christmas." The blond pushed his plate aside, folding his hands together and leaning forward on the table. "Christmas is the one holiday of the year specifically designed to keep families together. It's all about family, and your parents following through with that proves it. Sure your father works leading up to it, but I bet you can't honestly tell me you spend Christmas day without seeing him."

Now that he thought of it, that was true. Christmas day was the one day of the year where they all had breakfast, opened presents, watched movies, went out to lunch, watched more movies, went out to dinner, watched even _more _movies, then went to bed. All four of them. His dad even had his cell phone off sometimes.

"I never really thought about it."

"I'm sorry you may not have the relationship you want with your father, but he does care. He notices. And he knows how to separate his work life with his personal life."

"Why do you say that?" Sasuke asked, confused.

Minato smiled. "Lets just say I've got an insider's view on the inner workings of your father's mind." He waved to a waiter and asked for the bill.

Paying it, he led the way back towards the car and they drove home in comfortable silence. When the car was parked in the Uzumaki's garage, Sasuke exited and leaned against it, looking over at Minato.

"Thank you for dinner, Mr. Uzumaki. It was—enlightening."

The man laughed and nodded. "You're welcome, Sasuke."

"Good night." He turned to leave, and got halfway down the driveway when the other called him back.

"Sasuke?"

He turned to regard him.

"Do you know you haven't asked a single question about Naruto? You had me all day, and not a single question."

Sasuke shrugged. He honestly hadn't wanted to spy on his boyfriend. It wasn't really his style, for one thing, and for another, he didn't think he wanted Minato to report back to his son about all the things Sasuke asked about.

"Everybody's got secrets. He'll tell me his when he's ready."

"I'm glad to hear you feel that way." Minato shoved his hands in his pockets. "Naruto's a little bit strange sometimes. He bites off more than he can chew, and eventually it comes back to bite him but—I hope you know he really cares for you, and he'd never intentionally hurt you."

Somehow, hearing something like that from Naruto's father made Sasuke feel like he was going to get hurt really badly. He tried not to dwell on it and nodded a thanks, then turned and walked back towards his house.

* * *

A light knock at Sasuke's door caused him to turn away from his computer, his mother opening his door and smiling in at him. He managed a smile back, even though his mind was on other things.

"Still awake?"

"Yeah, I'm—just thinking," he admitted, rubbing his face with both hands. "Dad asleep?"

"Yeah."

"Itachi?"

"Working on something, I think. When isn't he?" She smiled, and Sasuke smiled back genuinely this time. He hadn't really thought about how much he loved and appreciated his mother until he'd met Naruto.

"Are you going to bed?"

"I think so, yes." She laughed. "I've been staying up much too late these days. Kushina is a bad influence."

"I'm glad you met her." Sasuke said sincerely. "You two get along really well, and I know it can't be easy living with the three of us. So I'm glad you have her here."

Mikoto looked taken aback, but then she smiled brilliantly. "Thank you, Sasuke. I'm happy, too. This vacation has been really nice."

"For me, as well." He knew she'd understand what he meant, but he hoped she would also know that spending time with his family hadn't been completely horrendous this year.

"I'm glad." She smiled. "Well, I'm going to bed. Good night."

"Wait," he called out when she turned to leave. Hesitating, he stood up and walked over to her, then leaned closer and kissed her cheek. She seemed even more taken aback than before. "Good night, mum."

She smiled brightly at him again, patted his cheek, then turned and left the room. He heard her bedroom door shut a few seconds later.

He had to admit, his mother looking that shocked before he kissed her good night made him a little sad, and thinking back, he really wasn't very open with his mother. Not like Naruto and his, for sure. He felt he should change that, considering everything she did for him.

Sighing, he turned to glance at his computer, then looked out his bedroom door. He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the picture he'd seen in his father's office earlier that day. So much so he'd spent most of the night trying to look for it, but no dice. Now that his father was asleep, he figured it was as good a time as any to check it out.

Moving silently through the hall, he inched open his father's office door, then shut it behind himself, groping along the wall for the light switch. Finding it, he turned it on, then moved to his father's desk and sat down.

Shuffling a few papers around, he found the stack of articles and sifted through them once more for the picture, but he didn't find it. He did, however, find another picture of the creepy woman from two years ago. The same kid was with her, looking virtually identical to the other picture. Head down, baseball cap on, and hands shoved in his pockets. This one was closer, and looked almost like a picture taken from high up. There was no caption, and the article present only spoke about stock markets, which led him to think that the article linked to the picture had been cut out.

"What are you doing?"

Sasuke jumped a mile high and whipped around to find Itachi standing in the doorway, eying him. He was leaning against the jamb with his arms crossed, looking perfectly at home spying on Sasuke.

"Lurk much?" he snapped to cover up his shock.

"Dad's gonna kill you if you mess up his piles."

"I'm not messing up his piles," he shot back, turning to the desk again as if to make sure he was telling the truth. "I just found a few newspaper pictures earlier and one of them had Naruto in it, so I was just trying to find it."

"Why?"

"Well, why does dad have it?" Sasuke demanded, turning back to his brother. "It's kind of weird, isn't it? He has a picture of my boyfriend, and then a picture of this woman with her kid." He waved the current picture in the air, then tossed it back onto the desk.

"You might not know this, but dad documents things like a machine. He cuts out any pictures that relate to anything about you, me, his business, and anyone else he knows, whether friendlies, subsidiaries or competition."

"Yeah, but Naruto?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Maybe it was from before you even knew him. Who was he with? I mean, no offense to your boyfriend, but he's not front-page news."

Sasuke ignored him and turned back to look at the desk, shifting through the newspaper cuttings to find the one of him and Itachi again. He found it weird how most of these pictures he didn't even remember. When and how had people taken their photo, and really, _why[_? People made it seem like being an Uchiha was like being a movie star. It really wasn't.

They were richer.

"Come on." Itachi moved up behind him and kicked the back of the chair. "You should get out before dad finds out."

Not wanting to listen to Itachi, but knowing he was right, Sasuke moved everything back to where it used to be to the best of his ability, then stood and turned off the light, closing the door behind himself. He walked after Itachi, the other turning into his room. Sasuke followed, moving to his bed and falling down onto it.

"Deidara and I have fucked on those covers," Itachi informed him while sitting in his desk chair.

Sasuke promptly stood up.

"What are you doing?" He moved up behind his brother to look over his shoulder, but he minimized the screen. All Sasuke saw based on the minimized window link was that he was looking up one of their father's larger competition. It looked like their official site. Why Itachi was doing that, he didn't know, but if he was trying to get brownie points with their dad, he was already years ahead of Sasuke.

"Why are you looking that up?"

"Why is that any of your business?" Itachi replied smoothly, turning to look at him. "Why didn't you go to the concert?"

"Why is that any of _your_ business?" Sasuke shot back dryly.

"I like knowing when you and the boy toy aren't around. Your presence makes me uncomfortable since I know you're being inappropriate whenever no one's looking."

"Same could be said with you and Deidara." Sasuke smirked. "Oh wait, you guys would have to be together to be inappropriate."

Itachi's face darkened and he stood, looming threateningly over Sasuke. The younger Uchiha stood his ground, but he had to admit, his brother was kind of scary when he was mad—and sex-deprived.

"I've given up on Deidara. He was too easy. And be careful, Sasuke, or I'll be sure to steal _your_ boy toy to make up for my lack of stress relief."

Snorting, Sasuke brushed him off and turned to leave his room, finding satisfaction in knowing he'd frustrated his brother. Not having someone to fuck seemed to really be getting to him, and sadly, Sasuke could relate.

Returning to his room, he brushed his teeth and changed into his sleeping pants, then turned off his light and crawled into bed. Putting both hands behind his head, he frowned up at his ceiling, thinking back on two days prior when Naruto had been all ready to fuck him and then had stopped.

He wanted to think that Naruto had just lost his nerve, but the blond was way too confident for that. He'd been fucking sucking him off in the shower when his mom almost walked in on them, so to think he'd chicken out before fucking Sasuke was almost laughable.

But then what? Why else would he have stopped?

And—again, his mind strayed to the moronic brunet rolling around in the snow with him. What if they were dating? What if Naruto wanted to be with Sasuke, but had to break up with the other guy first, and didn't know how? And he didn't want to fuck Sasuke until he could do it honestly?

Well, first off, that would piss Sasuke off more. Because then he'd be a liar _and_ a cheater—and nobody liked either of them, especially during poker.

Rolling onto his side, he tried to shake off the uneasy feeling that something was going to go horribly wrong soon. Minato's words mixed in with Naruto's sudden departure earlier that day... it all just pointed to something unpleasant, and as much as Sasuke loved Naruto, he really wasn't willing to open up to someone who couldn't even be honest with himself.


	11. The Paper

**AN: My bad, forgot to upload here... **

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches.  
**

* * *

If this was a dream, Sasuke didn't want to wake up from it. He'd slept with his window open because the heating in the house had been ridiculously high the night before, and had gotten cold in the middle of the night, but was too lazy to get up and close it. He'd been in and out of consciousness for hours because of the cold, but now he felt deliciously warm again. It wasn't until he realized that warm, calloused hands were rubbing up and down his back that it became apparent why he was warm.

Inhaling deeply, he let out a content hum, shifting backwards into the toned body lying behind him. Arms wrapped around his waist and he felt a kiss press against his shoulder.

"You're back," he said lamely, voice thick with sleep.

"Yeah. About an hour ago. Missed you." Another kiss to his shoulder.

"Mm, I hung out with your dad yesterday."

"Oh yeah? Learn anything interesting?"

"No." He inhaled again and shifted, rolling over and burying his face in the other's chest. He realized Naruto was naked from the waist up, and had to snort. His poor mother would probably cry if she saw them right now, even though Sasuke could tell Naruto was still wearing his jeans, and his socks.

"Did you have fun, at least?"

"I guess. He's not you."

"Well, thank God for that, or I'd be worried about my competition! I mean, the guy's clearly very attractive."

Sasuke snorted, knowing Naruto had only said that because of how similar they looked, and what he was _really_ saying was that _he_ was very attractive, just not as bluntly.

"How was France?"

"Good."

"Just good?"

"Yeah. There were—complications, I guess."

Frowning, Sasuke opened his eyes and pushed back so he was half-sitting up, opening his mouth to ask what he meant when the words died in his throat and he understood. Naruto was sporting some new bruises—a lot of them, from the looks of it—and a nice new shiner. He also had a cut on the corner of his lip, but the signature smile was ever-present.

"What did you do? Get in a fight?"

"Uh, yeah, something like that." Naruto sat up, too, and grinned sheepishly at Sasuke. "It's a long story, but—let's just say you should've seen the other guy."

"I'm sure his hand is nice and purple. You shouldn't have tried hitting it with your face."

Naruto snorted and shook his head, then shoved Sasuke. "Asshole. I won the fight, thank you. Even got myself arrested for it, but I made bail. Long story, really don't wanna talk about it."

"What did you do?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow. "Steal the last pair of high heels from some old lady?"

Naruto flat out laughed at that, then shook his head and stood, stretching. Sasuke could see a large, purple bruise on his left side that disappeared under the hem of his pants. He hoped everything below the belt was still in working order.

"Nah. Bumped into the wrong people at the wrong place, I guess. Didn't take too kindly to an American in their country." Naruto snorted and rolled his eyes. "I made it stick we were Canadian."[1]

"Great, now they'll hate _us_ instead." Sasuke snorted and stood, moving towards his dresser to grab a shirt when he paused and frowned. "We?"

"Hm?"

"You said '_we_ were Canadian' just now. Who were you with?" He turned to look at Naruto, and found him staring right back with the same expression he'd worn the day before. Like he'd just gotten caught with his hand in the metaphorical cookie jar.

"I meant we as in you and me," he insisted, recovering remarkably fast.

"No, that's not what you meant." He narrowed his eyes.

Naruto groaned and fell back onto the bed, covering his face with both hands. "Not today. Please?" He sat up, propping himself up on his elbows. "Please, not today. I just got back."

He stood and moved up to Sasuke, cupping his face in his hands and kissing him. Sasuke let him, but didn't kiss back.

"I missed you. Can we please not do this today?"

"When _will_ we do it, then?" He slapped Naruto's hands away, annoyed. He fucking hated secrets. And Naruto seemed to have plenty.

"Tomorrow. I already decided with myself I was going to explain tomorrow so just—bear with me, all right?" He reached out again and cradled the side of Sasuke's face in one hand, leaning forward so his forehead rested against the raven's. "Just give me today. I promise we'll talk tomorrow just—please just give me today."

"You sound like I'm going to break up with you tomorrow."

Naruto didn't say anything, but Sasuke noticed him wince. Then, the blond kissed him, and he couldn't do anything but kiss him back.

* * *

"I can't remember the last time I did this," Naruto admitted with a huge, childish grin while packing more snow down for the base of the snowman they were in the process of building.

The corner of Sasuke's mouth turned up slightly into a smirk and he just threw a bit of loose powder at the blond before continuing on the middle section.

Truthfully, he couldn't remember when he'd last made a snowman, either. He wasn't big on snow, as everyone who knew him was aware of, so willingly going out to play in it was just inconceivable. Only Naruto could ever hope to get him outside to play in the snow.

"It's funny how snowmen have changed since we were kids, huh?"

"How so?" Sasuke inquired, getting the middle part up onto the base and watching Naruto roll out snow for the head.

"Well, when we were kids, you used charcoal for the eyes and buttons, and a carrot for a nose. Now, we don't ever really use charcoal so there isn't any, and putting a carrot on a snowman seems like a waste of food." He stood up and turned to look at Sasuke, his expression one of horror. "Our snowman is gonna be eyeless and noseless!"

"We can give him arms with branches, at least." Sasuke shrugged, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. Even with his gloves on, they were cold from playing in the snow.

"Great, so if he comes to life like Frosty the Snowman, he can branch us to death for not having given him eyes."

Sasuke snorted at how ridiculous that sounded. "He'd have to find us, first."

"Hey, if this were a horror movie snowman, he wouldn't need eyes to find us. He just would."

Naruto picked up the snowball he'd been making and then moved towards the other two larger boulders of snow. Sticking his tongue between his teeth, he stuck the head onto the snowman and then packed it down around the edges to keep it where it was. Then, he stepped back to admire his work.

Sasuke moved over to stand next to him, smiling at their pathetic looking snowman. At least they'd made it together, and that was really all that mattered. Just when he was going to turn to ask Naruto what they were doing next, the blond shoved him and he fell backwards into the snow.

Naruto landed beside him a second later, laughing and spreading his arms and legs out before starting to make a snow angel. Sasuke snorted and sat up, brushing the snow out of the back of his hair and turning to regard the blond. He looked so damn happy just playing in the snow that the Uchiha couldn't help but not hate it as much as he used to.

"Come on, make a snow angel with me!" Naruto pouted, continuing to move his arms and legs. "They can be friends!"

"You are _such_ a dork." Sasuke rolled his eyes, but sighed and lay back down anyway, making a snow angel for Naruto.

The blond rolled over when he was done, resting on his side and reaching out to touch Sasuke's face. The raven hissed, shying away.

"Your hands are cold."

"No they're not, my gloves are," Naruto insisted, taking his glove off and then bringing his hand back to the Uchiha's cheek.

Surprisingly, he was right. Sasuke closed his eyes and almost nuzzled into the warm hand before remembering who he was and settling for leaning against it. Naruto shifted closer, Sasuke rolling onto his side, and their lips met again.

The kiss was soft, and Sasuke could tell Naruto was putting more emotion into it than usual. He pulled back from the kiss and exhaled slowly. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Naruto grinned. "I just missed you." He leaned forward to kiss him again.

When they broke apart, Sasuke snorted. "We killed our angels."

"Nah, now they're just forever linked."

"Until it snows again or the sun melts it."

Naruto smacked him in the arm for his comment, and then stood, holding his ungloved hand out to Sasuke. The Uchiha took it and was hauled to his feet, Naruto pulling him into a hug and laughing. Snorting, Sasuke pushed him away, causing him to tumble back into their snowman, effectively taking him out.

"Oh no! Branchy!" Naruto scrambled back to his feet, turning to look at the damage. "We killed him! We need to rebuild him!"

"Why? So he can kill us?" Sasuke asked with a snort, finding it funny Naruto had named him "Branchy" when they hadn't even gotten around to giving him arms.

"No, so that we can be festive and enjoy the snow and winter and Christmas." He turned to Sasuke, and turned his nose up at him. "Or one of us can pretend to."

"I don't see what the appeal is with snow. It's wet."

"So's my mouth, but you never seem to complain about that." Naruto waggled his eyebrows.

Sasuke stared at him, then shoved snow down the back of his shirt when the blond wasn't looking.

* * *

Sasuke really wanted to voice his concerns aloud, but he felt that given the situation, it would probably be a little rude. Minato and Kushina had gone over to his place for dinner after Naruto had somehow magically convinced his mother to invite them over—he was freakishly good at charming people, it kind of concerned him—and now Sasuke was sitting at the dining room table waiting for Naruto to come out of the kitchen.

The blond had insisted he cook dinner for him, and Sasuke couldn't help but feel he was trying to make up for both the non-sex they'd had, and for bailing on him when he'd asked him to go to the concert. Naruto seemed to be trying really hard, though, and it made him feel a little guilty for being worried about eating his cooking.

He hadn't gotten killed yet, but after what Minato had told him about Naruto and Kushina's cooking that first night, he was seriously concerned. As long as Naruto ate the first bite and didn't drop dead, he would follow suit.

And as long as the food actually looked edible...

He heard something break in the kitchen and jumped, having been lost in his thoughts, turning to look at the door. He smirked. "Are you okay in there?"

The swinging door opened, Naruto glaring out at him. "You know, for a rich kid who has a cook at home, you're insanely cocky when it comes to you and the kitchen." The blond disappeared into the kitchen again.

"Maybe because I'm still thinking about your dad's warnings about your cooking." He stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Naruto appeared at the swinging door again. "Get back in your seat!"

"Just let me help you," Sasuke sighed, exasperated.

"Sit down!" Naruto glared.

The two of them stared at one another for a long while before Sasuke just conceded defeat and sat down, calling that he didn't want any broken glass in his meal. Naruto assured him it was just the measuring cup, and it had landed on the floor.

He was just waiting for the moron to walk through it. It seemed like something Naruto would do.

Leaning back in his seat, he crossed his arms and waited for Naruto to finish whatever it was he was doing in the kitchen. Making food, obviously, but Lord only knew what kind of food he was going to get.

Hopefully something edible.

After a few more minutes and some choice swear words from Naruto, the blond finally emerged from the kitchen and put a plate down in front of Sasuke. The raven couldn't help the smirk that lifted the corners of his lips when he saw what it was.

"This is what all the fuss was about?" He motioned his plate.

"If you don't want it, I can take it back," Naruto retorted, sticking his chin up and scrunching up his face.

Snorting, Sasuke shook his head and pulled the plate closer to himself, still smirking. "Thanks, moron."

"You're welcome, princess." The blond took a seat across from him with his own plate, and picked up the corner of one of the halves of the sandwich he'd made for them.

To be fair, the sandwich looked pretty damn impressive considering it was just a sandwich. Picking up one half of his own, Sasuke sniffed it cautiously, following through with his own promise of letting Naruto eat first before taking his own bite.

It was really good. Messy, and a little hard to fit into his mouth without unhinging his jaw, but good all the same.

"This is really good," Sasuke commented. "What's in it?"

"If I told you," Naruto grinned, "I'd have to kill you. That, or lock you in my closet."

"I think I could live with that last one," Sasuke replied honestly, smirking in response.

"Don't tempt me." The blond took another large bite of his sandwich, and licked some sauce off his lips before pointing at it. "It's a sandwich a friend taught me. Hard to make, though, no matter what you might think. It's got chicken, some Parmesan, mozzarella, sun-dried tomato basil, green lettuce, tomatoes, some basil mayo for sauce, all on nice and toasty rosemary Parmesan bread."[2] Naruto kissed his fingers and grinned. "What more could you ask for?"

"Dessert?" Sasuke asked and then laughed when Naruto kicked him under the table.

"That's later. If I can manage not to screw it up."

"Why are we even doing this?" Sasuke snorted. "Last time, when I made you dinner, it was because our parents weren't around and you would have starved. Why did you get them out of the house so you could do this for me?"

"I'm not allowed to want to cook you dinner?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "What's wrong with me doing something for you?"

"Nothing, I just feel like you're trying too hard or something." Sasuke shrugged.

He saw the blond wince, and felt like he might have been a little blunt, if not harsh. He hadn't meant it as a bad thing, really, he just didn't understand why Naruto seemed to be going out of his way tonight. It made him worry about what was going on in the other's head. They'd been moving along a little fast, that was true, and maybe it had finally sunk in for Naruto that this wasn't what he wanted, so he was trying to make the last few days with Sasuke count, for the Uchiha's sake.

He shook his head, dispelling the thought, but he couldn't help but feel like something was up. Still, he tried not to dwell on it, and focussed on enjoying the sandwich, even if it was messy to eat.

Naruto snickered and Sasuke scowled at him, annoyed. "What?"

"Nothing. You've just..." The blond trailed off, then leaned over the table and licked at the corner of his mouth before kissing it and sitting back down. Sasuke snorted.

"I could have gotten that myself."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't have been as fun." Naruto smiled happily and took another bite of his sandwich. "So what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know." Sasuke shrugged. "It's the day before Christmas Eve, so it's kind of the last time everything will be open. Once Christmas Eve hits, they'll close it all. Maybe we should go to the theatre. Catch a movie or something."

"Sure, sounds good. I definitely don't wanna go to the mall, though. So many people." Naruto shuddered. "Too crowded. Maybe we can just movie hop."

"Only if there's good things to watch," Sasuke insisted. "If not, we could always come back here and just play video games. Or go rent a movie from somewhere. Movie places are open all the time, right?"

"I guess." Naruto shrugged.

The two of them continued eating, talking every now and then about their plans for the following day, and Naruto admitting he wasn't sure he was going to be allowed out of the house on Christmas Day.

"My parents like it when it's just the three of us. They usually lock me in the house. My mom goes a little nutty sometimes, though, being cooped up inside, but we like the family time."

"Mine's like that, too." Sasuke smiled. "Not so much the locking us in the house part, but the four of us being together. Dad even turns off his cell phone, for once."

"That must be nice. A change from every other day."

"I guess, yeah." Sasuke finished his last bite and chewed it slowly, savouring the taste before swallowing. "Thanks. That was good."

"Welcome." Naruto beamed and stood, grabbing their plates and walking into the kitchen.

Sasuke leaned back in his seat to see through the swinging door before it closed to get an idea on what Naruto had made for dessert, but it closed too quickly and all he saw was the blond putting their plates in the sink.

Waiting patiently for the other to exit, he couldn't help but smirk again when the door opened and Naruto stepped out with a large bowl of strawberries and a can of whipped cream. That was just going to lead to trouble, and he knew it.

"If you're planning on taking advantage of me by means of strawberries and whipped cream, just remember your parents could come home any time."

Naruto laughed, putting the bowl down on the table and leaning towards Sasuke. "Not tonight." He kissed him, lingering for a few seconds, then pulled away, filled his hand with whipped cream, and smooched it into the raven's face. Sasuke wrestled the can from the other's hand and sprayed it into his hair, Naruto covering his face and crying out.

"Not the floor! I'll have to clean it up!"

"Your problem!" Sasuke sprayed him more, Naruto grabbing the end and tugged it from his grip, pulling him closer and kissing him again.

The raven could taste whipped cream while their tongues tangled, and had to admit, he could get used to this kind of thing. The mess on his face and in his hair, not so much, but he would be lying if he said it wasn't fun.

He started to pull away, but Naruto brought both hands up, cradling his face in them, and forced him closer. The blond kissed him gently, at first, lovingly, and then the kiss started getting more heated, almost desperate. Naruto was clinging to the front of his shirt as if he thought someone was going to grab him and yank him away.

When the kiss finally broke, Sasuke panted, gasping in air and licking his lips, all traces of whipped cream gone. "What's with you tonight?" he asked, his hands down by Naruto's waist, hands tangled into his shirt.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked breathlessly, running one hand along his cheek.

"I don't know, you just seem—different."

"I'm fine." Naruto smiled. "Just... making sure you know you're important to me, I guess."

"Okay..." Sasuke felt like something was wrong, but didn't know what, and he didn't want to push the subject. Normally he would, but Naruto looked way too focussed on their evening to probably want to answer, and asking would just ruin it.

Looking around, he smirked a little. "You're gonna have a mess to clean up."

"Yeah, I am," Naruto agreed with a sigh, also looking around. "Guess you've had all the dessert you can handle."

"It was good." Sasuke smirked and leaned forward to kiss Naruto lightly on the lips. "I should let you clean up. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Naruto pulled him in for another kiss, hand travelling down his arm and then twining their fingers together. Sasuke pulled away and started for the door, but Naruto didn't let go of his hand. "Hey."

"Hn?" Sasuke turned back to him.

Naruto opened his mouth to say something, then seemed to think better of it and closed it. He squeezed Sasuke's hand, let it go, then shoved his own in his pockets. "Good night."

"Night," Sasuke said slowly, uncertainly, then turned to leave the house. He glanced back once at Naruto, the blond's hair still covered in whipped cream, and a few smears of it along his cheeks and shirt.

The other looked lost in thought, his eyes on the ground. Sasuke just left the house without another word, not wanting to ruin the remarkably relaxed day they'd had together.

* * *

It had been hard getting to sleep that night, mostly because his brain wouldn't shut up, but after a while he managed to drift in and out of consciousness for a bit. He kept having really weird dreams, though, which was why he ended up waking up so often. By the time eight in the morning hit, he'd had enough of trying to pretend to sleep and just got up, moving across his room to his bathroom to complete his toiletries before sitting at his computer and turning it on. He browsed the internet for a little while, and then got bored enough to start playing a random computer game he stumbled upon.

Sasuke glanced at the time at the corner of the computer screen, his face resting in his hand, elbow propped on the desk. He let out an annoyed sigh before letting his eyes return to the game he was playing on . It was a ridiculously easy game, which required little thought and virtually no skill, which was probably why he was killing time playing it.

He hadn't slept well the night before, which was still annoying him, though he wasn't entirely sure why. And now he was just frustrated, and really wanted to see Naruto. He'd considered going over a few times but, really, he knew the idiot wouldn't be awake this damn early, and he didn't think it would be fair to wake him up just because he'd had a shitty night.

His own parents were also still asleep, the only person awake besides him being Itachi. Then again, he didn't know if Itachi was just awake or if he hadn't gone to bed yet. Most of the time, he didn't think Itachi slept. That was probably why he drank so much coffee.

Glancing out the window, he snorted when he saw it was snowing.

"Figures," he muttered to no one in particular. Why _wouldn't_ it be snowing? He'd have to shovel the driveway again, great. At least he knew Naruto would have to, as well. If they did it at the same time, they wouldn't have to worry about losing time together.

More and more, the closer Christmas got, Sasuke started to let reality set in. Christmas break was almost over, and soon they'd be going home. Sure, they didn't live that far apart, but he couldn't help but feel once they got back to Canada, they were going to end up going their separate ways. And that bothered him.

He'd gotten unusually attached to Naruto. Maybe because the guy made him feel so normal. He didn't like to think of how things were going to be once they both got back to their respective cities.

Leaning back when he got killed again, Sasuke rubbed his face with both hands and then stood, pacing in his room and hearing the front door slam. Itachi was obviously going out to hunt down some food or something—or so he'd thought. The door opened again less than two minutes later.

Sasuke walked towards his window to look out at their driveway, but he didn't see any footprints in the snow, which suggested Itachi had just gone out onto the front porch. He hoped he wasn't smoking again, Mikoto would go postal and he didn't want to have to deal with that right now.

He turned away from the window when his door opened, Itachi looking in at him with an unreadable expression. If the raven didn't know better, he'd say it was pity, but when had his brother ever pitied anyone?

"I know you won't believe me when I say I'm doing this because I don't want you to get hurt, but it's the truth."

The Uchiha's eyes flickered to Itachi's clenched hand, the older man tightening his grip around what he was holding upon noticing his brother's gaze.

"What are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Now he was _sure_ something was wrong, because Itachi actually _did_ look like he was pitying him. He couldn't fathom why his brother would feel that way.

"What's wrong?"

Itachi stared at him for a few seconds and then walked into the room, putting the newspaper down on Sasuke's bed. "Make sure you sit down." Then he left the room.

Sasuke frowned, but figured he should listen to his brother, sitting down on the bed and then pulling the rolled up newspaper towards himself. Wondering if it was Itachi warning him about their father's sour mood, he took a deep breath, then unfolded it to look at the page Itachi had flipped it to.

At first, it didn't register. What he was seeing wasn't making it into his brain. His lips curled up slightly because he was having trouble processing what he was seeing. When it finally caught up to him, he felt like someone had just punched a hole through his chest. His mouth flooded with bile and it took a conscious effort for him not to throw up. He could feel his eyes burning with want to cry, but he refused to let the angry tears form.

Instead, he just tossed the newspaper aside, his fists clenched against his knees, and glared angrily at the ground. The ache in his chest continued to intensify and with each thought, each attempt at justification, the ache throbbed more painfully.

Standing on shaky legs, he walked purposefully into the bathroom, bent over the toilet, and threw up. He dry-heaved for a few seconds, and then concluded he was done. His stomach still churned with the desire to throw up, but he couldn't again. He'd only ever vomited due to anger twice before in his life, and he was even more pissed to have to add a third time.

The ache in his chest more painful than ever, he stormed across the room and snatched up his cell phone, moving towards the window and lowering his blinds for the first time since his arrival. Dialling a number, he put it to his ear.

"When does the next plane for Toronto leave?" he demanded before the woman had finished speaking.

"_Uh, two hours, sir."_

"I would like to make a booking, any class, I don't care how much it costs." He clenched his jaw and glared at the covered window. "Just get me the fuck out of here."

Naruto didn't deserve the chance of an explanation, not after all his lies. Not after _that_.

He'd fucked up. And now, Naruto was going to pay.

Sasuke didn't need this shit. His family could spend Christmas without him.

He was fucking _done_.

* * *

[1]I have nothing against Americans, kthx.  
[2]This is an actual Skully sammich. She's nuts, but it was rather tasty |D And considering all my personal gross inserts in this, I shouldn't talk pfft.


	12. The Revelation

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches.**

* * *

When morning came to Naruto on December twenty-third, he knew it was time to do something. His brain had barely woken completely from its slumber before he opened tired blue eyes and remembered his decision from the day before. On how he couldn't do it anymore. Juggling his best friend and his boyfriend—it couldn't be done.

Not without lying.

Not without hurting one of them.

That probably explained his reluctance to get out of bed that morning. But he knew he couldn't put it off any longer. He had to tell them, and if he didn't do it before Christmas... he felt like something would just go wrong.

His cell phone rang eight times that morning, followed by three calls to his landline before finally dying out. He knew it was Kiba—no one else was that annoying when a phonecall wasn't answered—but he wanted to talk to Sasuke first. He wasn't sure why, maybe because he'd rather know if it was worth risking telling Kiba. Depending on Sasuke's reaction, he might not even need to tell the brunet. There'd be nothing to tell.

It was almost one-thirty by the time he exited his bedroom, having taken his time in the bathroom.

Yawning, he walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, seeing a note on the table for him. Picking it up, he read his mother's messy scrawl, and deciphered enough to know they were out shopping again. Probably his mother trying to mooch more presents off his dad. He had to chuckle slightly. She was so ridiculous sometimes, but that was what made her so amazing.

Sitting down, he grabbed himself a bowl of cereal, and munched on it slowly, knowing he was procrastinating the inevitable, but finding no other option. He didn't want to do what he was about to do, but he knew he had to.

Sighing once his bowl was empty, he put it in the sink, then moved back towards the stairs so he could go get dressed. He took his time choosing the right pair of jeans, and the perfect shirt. Again, procrastinating. Finally dressed and out of excuses, he trudged defeatedly back down the stairs and pulled on his jacket. Checking that his phone and wallet were in his pocket—and half hoping they weren't so he'd have an excuse to run back upstairs—he sighed when they were, and then opened the front door.

He could see Sasuke shovelling his driveway across the street and sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets and beginning to make his way over through the snow. He frowned slightly when he reached the bottom of his own driveway, noticing the build and height were slightly off, denoting that it wasn't Sasuke. It took Naruto a second to realize it was Itachi.

"Hey," he called out, the older Uchiha stopping to turn and look at him. "Where's your brother? Isn't he on shovelling duty for the holidays?" He smiled slightly.

"Sasuke left," was the monotonous reply, Itachi turning back to what he was doing.

Naruto froze at the bottom of the driveway, blinking, confused. "Left? What? Why?"

"Because of you."

The blond's head snapped back, and he pulled one hand out of his pocket to point his finger at himself. "Me? What did I do?"

"You failed to mention your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Now Naruto was _really_ confused. "What boyfriend?"

Itachi stopped shovelling to regard him, seeming to try and determine if he was legitimately confused, or just acting. Deciding he was telling the truth, Itachi snorted and started shovelling again.

"You haven't read today's paper, have you?"

"No, why?"

Itachi didn't say a word, he just motioned the front of the Uzumaki household.

Confused, Naruto turned and jogged back across the street, snatching up the newspaper from his porch and unfolding it. Nothing on the front page, nothing on the second. It wasn't until he got to the business page that all the colour drained from his face.

"Oh my God."

How was this his fucking life? The day he decided to tell Sasuke, the fucking news got hold of the fucking picture Naruto had tried to stop. Apparently, his little outburst had caused the couple to wonder what the big deal was, and now here it was, in full colour, Kiba and Naruto making out—uncomfortably—at the club over a week ago.

"No, no, no..." Naruto turned and bolted back for Itachi, who was still calmly shovelling snow. "No! No, this isn't—it's not what it looks like!"

"Really? Because it looks to me like you and the heir to the Inuzuka corporation are exchanging saliva." Itachi glanced up at him, and the usual amusement in the other's eyes was completely gone. Obviously, Naruto had hurt his brother to an unacceptable degree. The other even started walking back towards the garage with the shovel, turning his back on Naruto.

"Wait, you don't understand!" Naruto grabbed his arm and yanked him back. "Yes, I kissed Kiba while I was still getting to know Sasuke, but this is nothing!" He slapped his hand against the picture. "Kiba is my best friend, I've known him since kindergarten. He's straighter than a fucking arrow! My dad works for his mom, we've literally been friends forever, and I was _going_ to tell both Sasuke and Kiba about the other but I just—I know how crazy people get, and I didn't know how they'd react so I was scared. I didn't want to lose one of them because of this, and I know that's girly and fucked up, but Kiba's my best fucking friend, and I—" He cut himself off, licked his lips, then threw his arms out in defeat. "I love—I love Sasuke. I do. I love him. And I was going to tell him. Kiba isn't my boyfriend, he's not even bisexual, we only made out once so people would stop hitting on him. That's it."

He knew he'd babbled. He knew each word out of his mouth was probably making things worse for him, but he had to say it all. He had to get it out, and make Itachi understand what was going on. He'd never wanted this, had never wanted to hurt Sasuke, or Kiba. And now he'd fucked everything up. Sasuke was fucking _gone_.

Naruto stared at Itachi, while the other stared at him. Then, the Uchiha turned and threw the shovel into the garage, the metal end clanging loudly against the concrete. He pulled out his cellphone and dialled a number, Naruto cocking an eyebrow, and opening his mouth to speak when Itachi spoke first.

"Yes, this is Itachi Uchiha. When's the next flight to Toronto?"

Now Naruto was even more confused. He watched Itachi scowl and then glance at his watch before nodding.

"I'd like to book a seat. Last name Uzumaki, first name Naruto."

"Whoa, what?" the blond demanded, completely dumbfounded.

"Yes, roundtrip," Itachi continued, completely ignoring Naruto. "I'd also like to book a return flight for Sasuke Uchiha. I can email all the details within the next ten minutes. Yes, return flight for the evening of the twenty-fourth." There was a pause. "I'm sure the flight is full, but I'm willing to have them put in any class. First, business or economy. Just get it done. I expect everything to be in order by the time I arrive."

He hung up the phone, and Naruto just stared at him with his mouth hanging open.

"Are you insane? I can't just fly back across the fucking world to get Sasuke!"

"You can, and you will," Itachi informed him, ensuring his tone left no room for discussion. "I'm not doing this for you—though I do owe you a favour, and like I said, you never know when you might need a favour from me. Regardless, I'm doing this for my mother. Because she spent all morning crying over Sasuke leaving right before Christmas. You screwed this up," he pointed his finger at Naruto, "now you're going to fix it. If Sasuke isn't on that return flight with you, don't bother getting on the plane."

"Shit!" Naruto ran both hands through his hair, his mind completely boggled. Was Itachi fucking serious? "You actually think I can fix this?"

"No, you're too stupid to, but I'm hoping my brother is more idiotic than you are." Itachi was frowning down at his BlackBerry, typing something out. Presumably sending the promised information. He glanced up after a few seconds. "Why are you still here? Get your passport. Your flight leaves in forty-five minutes."

Okay, now he _knew_ Itachi was insane. Because it would take him that long to even _get_ to the airport.

Nevertheless, he turned and bolted back towards his house, wrenching the front door open and rushing up the stairs without bothering to close it. He tore his room apart looking for his backpack, shoving a pair of socks, some boxers, a shirt, his deodorant and toothbrush, and whatever three small books that were within reach, not even glancing at the titles. He found his passport under a pile of papers on the desk, and then made sure he had his keys, phone and wallet before rushing back down the stairs.

Grabbing the sheet his mother had written on, he hastily flipped it over and grabbed a pen, scrawling out a note that merely said he would be back for Christmas no matter what, and he'd call them when he could, and not to worry. Throwing the pen down on the table, he ran out of the house, turning to lock the front door just in time for loud music and an even louder engine to be heard coming down the street.

_Perfect timing,_ he thought to himself. He needed a fast car to get him to the airport, and even if he didn't drive like Kiba, he could make it in the other's car.

"Dude!" Kiba screamed from his car, the roof down despite the weather, and the music cutting off abruptly when he turned the car off. "Did you see this?" He was waving the newspaper in the air while Naruto ensured the door was locked before making his way hurriedly down the driveway. "Did you fucking _see_ this? My mom is gonna freak! She's gonna fucking _kill_ me! J'suis mort! _Mort_!"

"Move over," the blond ordered, wrenching open the driver's side door and tossing his backpack into the back. Kiba just stared at him.

"What?"

"This is your fault!" Naruto exclaimed, shoving at Kiba's shoulder to get him moving. He saw Itachi locking his own front door and hurrying down the driveway. It made sense he'd be coming, too. He had to pay. "Move over!"

"Jesus, fucknut!" Kiba raised his hands to cover his face when Naruto started punching him in the arm. "All right! All right, fuck! I'm moving! Calm down!" Kiba climbed over the middle of the car and got into the passenger seat, Naruto taking his spot behind the wheel and Itachi getting into the back seat, slamming the door. The blond barely waited for everyone to buckle up before flooring it, the tires spinning on the packed snow briefly before the car finally shot forward.

"Holy shit!" Kiba shouted, grabbing the dash with one hand and struggling to get his seatbelt buckled with the other. "What's going on? Who are you?" he demanded of Itachi, turning to look at him, then looking at Naruto. "Why are you driving so fast? Someone explain what's happening!"

"Shut up!" Naruto couldn't think with Kiba freaking out beside him. This wasn't the time to freak out. They were in a hurry, it wasn't the apocalypse. And Kiba's tension was starting to get to him, he just wanted the brunet to shut up.

"Putain de merde," Kiba whispered, then slapped the dash angrily. "Merde! Con! Tabarnak!"

"Fuck you and your tabarnak!" Naruto shouted, pushing at random buttons to get the roof up. It was fucking freezing, and it was making it twice as hard to hear anything with all the wind rushing past their ears.

Kiba obviously understood what he was looking for, because he hit a button and within a minute, the car was much quieter, the brunet included.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said after a few minutes of silence. "We're just in a hurry. I have to get to the airport right now."

"You could've just said so, you know," Kiba grumbled, his arms crossed and looking out the window. "Instead of being a dick."

"I didn't have time. My flight leaves in forty-five minutes."

"Flight?" Kiba turned to look at him, confused. "Where are you going?"

"Chasing my insignificant little brother across the world," was the drawled reply.

Naruto just glared at Itachi in the rear-view mirror, but Kiba turned around to look at him, then understanding dawned and he looked back at Naruto.

"Your boyfriend? What happened?"

"He saw the paper," Naruto muttered, hands clenching around the wheel.

"Yeah, speaking of which, momma's gonna fuckin' kill me, dude."

"Oh, QQ you," the blond snapped.

"Hey, fuck you!" Kiba pointed an angry finger at him. "It's your fault! You're the one who wanted to fucking kiss! And you made a big deal of the guy taking a picture! Now she'll know I was in England and I'm gonna be fucking murdered!"

"You'll be fine!" Naruto insisted. "Just let me worry about one thing at a time, okay? Sasuke fucking went home because of the picture, and I'm just gonna try and explain what happened."

"You're flying back across the world to explain..." Kiba trailed off. "Are your parents paying for this?"

"I am," Itachi informed him, making Kiba turn to look at him.

"Yeah, who are you again?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

The second the name left the other's mouth, Naruto wanted to strangle him.

Kiba instantly tensed, and slowly turned to look at his friend. The blond kept his eyes on the road, but he at least had the decency to press his lips together.

"Uchiha? You've been dating an _Uchiha_ behind my back?"

"Guess you didn't guess right, huh?" Naruto asked in a low voice, glancing in the side mirror and changing lanes.

"No, I guessed right! I knew it was competition but—an _Uchiha_? Are you shitting me? Putain, maman vas me tuer pour ça et c'est même pas ma faute, comment as-tu pu faire ça sens me le dire? On est—"

"This is why I didn't wanna tell you!" Naruto shouted, turning to look at Kiba before facing the road once more. "I knew you'd overreact! Yeah, your parents own two rivalling companies, but you know what, you're my best friend, and he's my boyfriend, and you're both just going to have to suck it up and grow up because I'm not going to be forced to choose between you two because you're both fucking idiots!"

He could feel Kiba glaring at him angrily, but didn't say anything further, breathing hard instead after his little tirade. He knew this was going to happen. He knew Kiba was going to flip, and Sasuke probably was, too. He just fucking _knew_—

"You don't get it, do you?" Kiba finally said in a low voice. "I don't care who you date, Naruto. I don't care that it's an Uchiha. I just can't believe you didn't tell me. That you didn't think I could find out without having a fit."

Naruto glanced at him when he heard the hurt in the other's voice, but Kiba was staring out the window again.

"I told you at McDonalds when we went shopping that I was sure I knew what was up, and I was sad you thought so little of me. Now I'm even more depressed, because you actually thought I'd give a shit who you dated."

"But you just said—"

"Do you know French?" Kiba snapped, turning to look at him. "No. What I said was that momma is gonna kill me for this, and it's not even my fault. And how could you do this without even talking to me? I thought we were friends. Do you have any idea how momma's gonna react if she finds out about this before I get the chance to tell her? That my best friend is dating an Uchiha? That her vice-president's son is dating the son of her biggest competitor?"

Naruto didn't know what to say. He'd known it was a bad idea keeping it a secret, but he'd thought it would be better. Now, it was just proving to be worse. Sasuke'd felt betrayed and bailed on him, and Kiba was so hurt and insulted he wasn't even bothering to swear in French. He had the same pained look on his face that he usually did when he spoke about his dad. Like he'd just been wronged in the most horrible of ways.

"I didn't—look, I'm sorry, okay?" Naruto turned to look at him, then glanced back at the road. "I wanted to tell you, but all right, yes, I screwed up. I thought you would be a fucking dick about it, because he's an Uchiha. And I was wrong, and I'm _sorry_. And if I fix this with him, I'll let you meet him, I promise."

"Fine," Kiba whispered, slouching more in his seat and looking out the window.

Naruto pressed his lips together and shook his head. Then, he smacked the steering wheel angrily. "Fuck. This is so fucked up. I can't believe Sasuke left."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have been all 'crouching tiger, hidden panther.'"

"Dragon," Itachi corrected.

"Whatever!" Kiba turned to glare at him. "What are you even doing here?"

"Aside from enjoying the show, I'm paying for Naruto's ticket."

Snorting, Kiba faced forward again, scowling. "I don't like you."

"You're one of few, then, I'm rather good at charming people," Itachi informed him.

"Yeah? Well good luck, cause I'm never gonna like you."

Naruto glanced at Itachi in the rear-view mirror, and frowned when he saw him smirking. That was when he recalled something Sasuke had said about Itachi, and the way he liked challenges. He winced slightly, hoping Itachi wasn't taking an interest, because Mrs. Inuzuka would _definitely_ kill him for that.

Rounding a corner sharply, he slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car with his bag, yelling a thanks over his shoulder at Kiba for the ride and slamming the door. He'd expected Itachi to follow, but the Uchiha merely tossed him his credit card and a sheet of paper, telling him to call if there were any problems before moving into the front seat of Kiba's car.

Naruto didn't bother waiting around to see what was going on. He booked it towards the Air Canada counter, praying he'd made it on time.

His parents really wouldn't be happy if he missed Christmas...

* * *

Kiba watched Naruto bolt out of the car so fast that he almost did it while it was still moving. His mouth opened to call after him, but the other was already yelling goodbye and waving over his head, credit card in hand after Itachi called after him to phone him if there were any problems.

The brunet was just dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Naruto was flying all the way back to Canada to convince his boyfriend to come back to England for Christmas. What kind of world did they live in that made that okay to do the day before Christmas Eve?

Shaking his head and raking his hand through his hair, he let out a sigh and started to shift back over to the driver's side when the door opened and Itachi suddenly took a seat there before Kiba could. He shut the door and then buckled himself in, Kiba staring at him as if he were an alien.

Naruto driving his car, that was hard for him to accept, but the blond was his friend, and on some platonic level, he loved the guy. But this? _This_? No. An Uchiha was _not_ going to be driving his car.

"Um, you're in my spot," he said coldly, narrowing his eyes at Itachi.

The older man turned to look at him, smirked, and then shifted gears before gliding smoothly out of the spot Naruto had crudely parked them in.

"Uh, this is auto-theft. Mixed in with kidnapping since I'm still in the car. This is _my_ car."

"So you're really all right with Sasuke and Naruto dating?" Itachi inquired conversationally. Kiba just stared at him, dumbfounded, and stomped one foot against the bottom of his car angrily.

"Dude! C'est ma voiture! Elle m'appartient! À moi! Stop the car!"

Itachi just ignored him, turning back onto the highway, and going so slowly, Kiba was sure his car was going to break down from the abuse. It was used to going fast. Going fifty in this car was just criminal. Criminal!

"Well?"

Growling angrily, Kiba crossed his arms, slouched down in his seat, and glared out the window. "No, I don't fucking care! He's my best friend, and who he dates is his business as long as they don't impede on my ability to hang out with him. Now stop the car!"

"I have to say, I'm impressed with how well you took it. I've known from the beginning, of course, that he knew you. Unlike my brother, I read the paper, so that first day when I saw you at his house, I knew who you were. You were both obviously friendly, but I wasn't sure about your relationship past that because I didn't know enough about either of you. When I saw the paper, well, you can imagine what I assumed."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you that to assume makes an ass out of you and me?" Kiba asked dryly.

Itachi smirked at that, glancing in the side mirror and changing lanes. The speed was making Kiba's skin crawl. If they didn't start going faster, he was going to spontaneously combust.

"Can you speed up a little bit?"

"Is there something wrong with my driving?" Itachi inquired.

"Uh, yeah. You're driving like an old granny."

The Uchiha chuckled slightly, but at least had the decency to speed them up so they were going eighty now instead of sixty. Seriously, the speed limit was sixty, who actually followed that?

"Why were you both kissing?"

"What?" Kiba demanded, his tone absolutely arctic. He did _not_ want to be having this conversation with the son of the head of the Uchiha corporation. What if he was spying? Asking him lame questions to start with before moving to the big guns?

"In the picture that was taken. Why were you kissing?"

"Because we went to a gay bar because I hate going to straight ones with Naruto. And guys kept buying me drinks, so we kissed for like, half a second to make them stop. He's the only person I trust enough to kiss. Otherwise, I wouldn't get near another gay man with a ten foot pole."

"Is that so?" Itachi asked, smirking more.

Kiba eyed him suspiciously, wondering if he was making fun of him. "Hey man, I'm straighter than an arrow. I'm so straight I make straight guys look crooked."

"And yet there's now a picture of you making out with another guy in every newspaper in town."

Groaning, the brunet covered his face with both hands. His mother was going to kill him when she found out he'd crossed over to England on more than one occasion. He was surprised his phone wasn't already ringing. When it did, he didn't want to answer it.

Did he care about Naruto and Sasuke? Again, no. Was he upset Naruto had lied to him, and hadn't trusted him enough to admit he was dating Sasuke Uchiha? Yeah, quite a bit, actually. The only consolation he had was that Sasuke had been lied to, as well, and hopefully having hurt them both was enough of a punishment for Naruto.

Though he doubted the blond would fly across the world for _him_. Then again, he wouldn't be able to afford it...

"Does your dad know?"

Hey, if Itachi was going to ask questions, so was Kiba.

"About what?" Itachi inquired.

"About Naruto. How he's the son of the Vice-president of my mom's company."

"I'm sure he does, my father does his homework, but we Uchihas understand how to separate our private lives from our businesses. Him and Minato have actually been going out for drinks together a lot. And my mother and Kushina get along incredibly well." Itachi glanced at him briefly, smirking a little. "Just because my father and your mother are rivals doesn't mean they can't also be friends."

"You don't know my mom," Kiba said with a snort. "There's no way this is going to go over well. She's going to be pissed if she finds out from anyone but me."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah."

"Hm."

They drove along in silence for a little while until Kiba frowned and turned around slightly to look over his shoulder. He then turned to Itachi and pointed behind them with his thumb. "Uh, you missed the turn."

"We're not going back to my house."

"We're not?" Kiba asked, confused. "Where—where are we going?"

"I don't know. I was thinking we could catch a ferry to Ireland or something."

The colour drained from Kiba's face. He was kidding, right? "What?"

"Well, you've been coming from France, so I figured he could see some other part of Europe while we're here." He turned to smirk at Kiba. "I'm not very fond of Christmas, anyway, I figure this can be my present to myself before the actual day."

"Uh, quoi?" He wasn't saying what Kiba thought he was saying, was he? Because the brunet was going to freak out in a second. Hidan and Kakuzu had no idea where he was aside from that he'd left the yacht to go to Naruto's. But he wasn't there anymore, so if Itachi wanted to kidnap him—well, he was already way ahead of everyone.

While trying not to panic, Kiba jumped when his phone rang loudly, vibrating against his thigh. He pulled it out hurriedly, hoping to get some help, but stopped when he saw who it was.

His mother.

He'd rather be stuck with this psycho of an Uchiha for a month than answer this call.

"Is that your mother?"

"Yeah," Kiba said in a small voice, staring at the screen.

He let out a yelp when the phone was snatched from his grip and flipped open. Before he could say anything—before he could even decide _what_ to say—it was at Itachi's ear, and the Uchiha was speaking.

To his mother.

To his _mother_!

Oh, he was fucking _dead_!

"Hello Mrs. Inuzuka. Don't speak, just listen. I'm sure by now you've seen the papers, and have seen the picture of Naruto and Kiba making out."

"Why would you tell her that?" Kiba shouted. "What if she was calling to ask what kind of cake I liked?" Unlikely, but one could hope.

Itachi just ignored him, anyway.

"Yes, your son has been spending some time in England over the past few days, which is really good luck for me, because had Naruto not been across the street, I never would have had the pleasure of meeting him. Today was our first official meeting, but nevertheless, I've been interested in your son since first seeing him."

"Oh my fucking God." Kiba covered his face with both hands. This couldn't be happening. First his best friend is dating an Uchiha, now an Uchiha was driving his car, and fucking _kidnapping_ him. Fuck!

... Was it accurate to call it kidnapping if he was an adult?

Either way, he was being taken against his will!

God, now that sounded like rape! This wasn't going to end well, he could feel it.

"We've dropped Naruto off at the airport just recently, and I've decided I'm going to be taking your son for a little boat trip for the next few days. He'll be back by Christmas, I'll promise you that, but not before I've had my way with him."

"Oh _God_!" Kiba shouted. "Stop it! What the fuck is wrong with you?" His mother was going to murder him. He was a dead man. A fucking _dead_ man!

Hopefully she'd take Itachi out first.

"On that note, I bid you good evening, and promise to take care of your son. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out who I am by calling Minato or Kushina, and asking who lives across the street, but I can make it easier for you since I have nothing to hide nor fear."

"Oh, please don't!" Kiba grabbed at the phone, but Itachi managed to keep it out of his reach, switching it to his other ear. "Please don't!"

"My name is Itachi Uchiha. Oh, and don't bother calling the English police. My father owns them. Good bye."

He hung up the phone.

And then tossed it out the window.

Kiba spent the next hour of the trip with his face pressed up against the glass at the back of the car, as if staring hard enough would force his phone to follow.


	13. The Decision

**Disclaimer: Still K. Masashi's...**

* * *

"Sir? Excuse me, sir?"

Naruto jolted awake from an uneasy sleep, blinking tired blue eyes up at the woman leaning over him. For a second, he was confused, and wondering where he was, and then the events of earlier that day sank in and he cleared his throat, shifting into a sitting position on the bed-like seat.

"We'll be landing shortly. I'm going to have to ask you to please move your seat back into its upright position."

"Yeah, of course." Naruto cleared his throat again, rubbing at one eye and turning in his seat to find the button that would bring it back to its usual sitting position.

He'd flown Business class before, but not as often as he was sure Itachi, Sasuke and Kiba did. His dad liked to keep him grounded, and acted like they weren't as well off as they were. Nowhere near as rich as the Uchihas or Inuzukas, but it wasn't like they couldn't afford Business Class every now and then. Minato just chose for them not to fly it.

Naruto had to admit, he was glad he was in it this time around, because with how chaotic his mind was, there was no way he would've gotten even a wink of sleep if he'd been in economy.

Getting his seatbelt fastened, he sat back in his seat and lifted the shade to look out the window. It was pitch black outside, and a glance at the time on television screen that showed their progress informed him—in French, since this _was_ Air Canada, so they had to say everything in both languages—that it was just before three in the morning. It was still the twenty-third right now in Canada, because of the time difference between the two countries. That meant he had the whole day to try and convince Sasuke to come back. His return flight wasn't until one in the morning on the twenty-fourth, which would put them back in England around two in the morning on the twenty-fifth. That was cutting it close, his parents wouldn't be happy.

Still, he'd be home for Christmas—provided Sasuke listened and didn't just slam the door in his face.

The blond pulled out the sheet of paper with all the phone numbers and addresses on it that Itachi had given him before leaving. He also still had the other's credit card, and was assured he could use it for anything he needed so long as it got Sasuke back.

Naruto took a deep breath, and then just waited for the plane to land, which it did around a half hour later, taxying for a while on the runway before stopping at the gate. He was one of the first people off, and once he got through customs, he exited the airport right away, since all he had with him was his backpack.

Hailing a cab, he gave the address to Sasuke's university and then stared out the window the whole time. He didn't have any cash, so when they arrived, he just paid with his own credit card—he wasn't going to make Itachi pay for everything, he'd done enough.

Getting out of the car, he exhaled slowly, the cold air seeping through his jacket and chilling him to the bone. He started walking in a random direction, if only to warm himself up, and looked down at the piece of paper Itachi had given him, his boots crunching loudly on the ground.

Finding a campus map, he stood in front of it for close to ten minutes before determining which direction he needed to go, and finally finding the apartments on campus, walking up to the front entrance and surveying all the names. He found Sasuke's, took a deep breath, and hit it.

He knew the other wouldn't even let him up, but what other choice did he have?

Waiting a few seconds, he hit it again, figuring Sasuke was probably sleeping since it was nearing four in the morning, now. But still no answer.

The door beside him opened and he jumped, startled, and saw a guard eying him suspiciously. He was probably hired for the holidays to make sure no one's apartment got broken into while no one was home.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi, yeah, um..." Naruto motioned the intercom. "I was just—I'm here visiting a friend, he must not hear the buzzer. Would you mind letting me in?"

"Sorry, kid." Naruto's eyebrow twitched at the word 'kid' but he said nothing. "I'm not allowed to let unauthorized people into the building."

"Could you maybe go and get him, then? His name is Sasuke Uchiha."

"Uchiha? The rich kid who came stomping in here last night?"

It made sense that Sasuke hadn't been back for too long, his flight had only been a few hours before Naruto's own.

"He's not in. He left about an hour ago."

"Do you know where?"

"No idea. Didn't say. Looked real mad, though."

"He always looks like that," Naruto reassured the guard, though he was mostly trying to reassure himself.

Nodding a thanks, he turned and looked out at the vast expanse of white before him. He didn't know where else to go, or what else to do, now. Biting his bottom lip, he sighed, raked a hand through his hair, and went to sit on the curb. His ass was numb within two minutes, but he didn't know what else to do. He'd just wait, see if Sasuke came back. If he didn't within the hour, Naruto would go find a hotel and then try and come back in the morning to force Sasuke to let him in.

Blowing into his hands, and wishing he'd remembered to bring his gloves, he rubbed them together, looking up and down the deserted street for any signs of life. After about twenty-five minutes, Naruto was almost ready to call it quits and leave for the night, but he could see someone walking back in his direction. Frowning, he stood, and squinted to try and catch a better look of the guy.

It was obviously a guy, and when he passed under one of the street lights down the street, Naruto saw he had black hair. He was sure tons of guys with black hair could be walking around at four in the morning, but Sasuke was jetlagged, and Naruto was willing to bet it was him.

Jogging down the street, backpack slung over his shoulder, he saw the figure stop abruptly when he was only a few feet away, and knew it was Sasuke. Only the Uchiha would have stopped upon seeing him there.

Naruto slowed and came to a stop two feet away from him, shoving his cold hands in his pockets and offering a half smile.

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke's voice was so hard, it reminded Naruto of that first day he'd met the other. When the Uchiha hadn't thought he was worth his time. It kind of hurt to be back at that level of unimportance.

"As corny as this is going to sound, I guess—I came for you." Naruto shrugged.

"Why?" Sasuke spat.

The blond winced, but tried to hide it quickly. "Because everything that happened was a misunderstanding."

"I don't have time for this," the Uchiha shot back. "I'm cold, and it's late." He started to walk around Naruto, but the blond moved to block his path. The raven's eyes narrowed. "Move."

"Just let me explain wha—"

"No!" Sasuke shouted. "I don't _care_ what you have to say! You've lied to me from the beginning, and I'm done playing your stupid games!"

"What games?" Naruto demanded, continuing to move into Sasuke's way when the other tried to pass him. "Just stop and listen for a second!"

"Get out of my way!"

"Sasuk—"

"Move!"

"No!" Naruto shouted back.

All he needed was five minutes. Just five fucking minutes for the jackass to listen to him! Was that too much to fucking ask? Apparently, because he wasn't having it. He tried to sidestep Naruto again, and the blond moved into his path. Again.

And next thing he knew, he had a fist flying at his face. It connected with the shiner still very present around his eye and he cried out, reaching up to cover the wound, and gritting his teeth when Sasuke stalked by. He shifted on his feet, grabbing the back of the other's jacket, and yanked him back.

The Uchiha rounded on him, and a fist flew at his face again, but Naruto caught this one and bent Sasuke's arm at a weird angle. Too bad he'd forgotten the other's comment about knowing karate though, to be fair, that had been what felt like a long time ago.

Next thing he knew, he got a knee to the gut, an elbow to the face, and then a kick to the chest. He flew onto his back, coughing and rolling onto his side, spitting blood from between his lips and groaning. Sasuke was rubbing at his wrist, glaring down at him before turning to walk away again.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto forced himself back to his feet, his lungs screaming in agony, but he ignored them. Stumbling once, he picked up speed and then tackled Sasuke from behind, wrestling him to the ground and then rolling him onto his back.

He opened his mouth to try and say something, but immediately saw stars when Sasuke headbutted him, and then shoved him off roughly. The Uchiha stood, and then started kicking him in the stomach, Naruto curling in on himself to avoid getting injured further.

"Stop fucking following me!" Sasuke's kicks were punctuated by each word, the raven breathing hard and stopping, then turning to walk away _again_.

Naruto knew he couldn't get up again. He could barely force himself onto his knees, one hand clutching at his stomach and the other digging into the snow, blood dripping off his chin and onto the white powder, staining it red.

He hadn't really wanted to pull this card. He'd wanted to say it later, when it seemed more appropriate, but he was out of options. Sasuke had obviously not been trying hard when they'd been fucking around, because contrary to what the guy looked like, he'd just kicked Naruto's ass. Though to be fair, Naruto had been trying not to hurt him. Sasuke seemed intent on making him bleed.

Still, he had no other choice, so spitting blood from his mouth again, he looked up at the other's retreating back, grit his teeth, and opened his mouth.

"I love you!"

Sasuke froze in his steps, turning slowly to regard Naruto before rage overtook his features and he stormed back towards him, pointing an angry finger at him. "What did you say?" His voice was low, and dangerous, and promised a beating into unconsciousness, but Naruto didn't take it back. "What did you just fucking say to me? You're not allowed to _fucking_ say those words to me! I'm not gonna stand here and let you _lie_ to me like that!" Sasuke shouted, bending slightly to scream at him.

Naruto could see, from this close up, that Sasuke's cheeks were flushed. Whether from the cold, or anger—or both—he didn't know, but the guy had come back, so he had to get his speech out.

He had to make him fucking _listen_.

"I'm not lying!" He grunted out, groaning and struggling to his feet. He stood in front of the other, one hand still on his stomach and using the back of the other to wipe the blood from his lips. The Uchiha just glared at him. "Sasuke, I love you," he repeated. "I don't understand how this all happened so fast, but I fucking _love_ you. Please, just let me explain." He reached out with his free hand to touch the other's face, but Sasuke took a step back, almost tripping over himself to get away. Naruto let his hand hang awkwardly in the air for a second before letting it drop. "Just give me a second to help you understand what you saw."

"I don't want to understand!" Sasuke snapped back. "I just want to put this all behind me, and pretend I never met you."

"Sasuke..."

"Go home, Naruto," the raven interrupted. He snorted, shaking his head. "Your boyfriend is waiting for you."

He turned on his heel and Naruto lunged forward, grabbing his arm and yanking him back around. Sasuke let him, but then pulled his arm free, eyebrows down in an angry frown.

"Will you just _listen_?" Naruto shouted, getting angry the other wasn't even giving him a fucking chance. "He's not my boyfriend! Fuck, this is all so fucked up!" He tugged at his hair angrily, breathing hard, then turned back to Sasuke. "He is _not_ my boyfriend!"

"How can I know?" Sasuke demanded, forcing Naruto to snap his mouth shut so he wouldn't start yelling profanities at the Uchiha for interrupting. "How can I trust that anything you ever said to me was real?" Sasuke thrust one hand angrily in the air, his breath coming faster with each passing second. Naruto could tell he was about to lose it, and he would probably end up getting punched again. "All this time, all we've been through, while for all I know you've been fucking that dumbass brunet in the back of his fancy car!"

Naruto almost choked on his own saliva, and forced back a laugh that threatened to burst forth. "Okay, were this not such a serious situation, I would be laughing over the fact that you have Kiba, me and sex all in the same sentence as if that were even possible."

"You're gonna tell me you've never fucked him?" The Uchiha crossed his arms, scoffing incredulously. Naruto could tell he wouldn't have been mad about that, if not for the fact that he thought Naruto had been doing it while they were supposed to be together. He supposed he could understand that.

"Yeah, I am," he answered to the other's question. "Because the day that happens, grab a parka 'cause when we reach hell, it'll be a ski resort."

Sasuke's frown turned into one of confusion for half a second, and Naruto took his chance, and started to blab out the explanation, hoping that the Uchiha would actually listen to him.

"His name is Kiba Inuzuka," he said, seeing Sasuke's eyes widen slightly, "and he's my best friend. I've known him since I was a kid. My dad is the vice-president for the Inuzuka corporation and... I guess I thought that if you knew all that, you wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore." He shrugged, lifting his hands in the air slightly and then sighing. He turned his back on Sasuke rubbing at his face briefly before looking at him once more. "I was keeping you a secret from Kiba, and Kiba a secret from you because I thought that if I told you guys about the other, you would both make me choose, and I didn't want that. I thought that if I made sure you knew me well enough before telling you, that you would be okay with it, that you wouldn't immediately think I was, I don't know, a spy or something, I guess. So, I just—avoided talking about it, thinking it would be better."

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched angrily and he turned his head to the side, arms still crossed, but at least he looked like he was calming down a little bit. Naruto felt like he wouldn't get punched again.

"Doesn't explain what I saw."

"You're right." Naruto rubbed his face again. "Okay, Kiba's—Kiba is a homophobe, pure and simple. I swear on my mother's life that Kiba is as homophobic as they come. We went out clubbing that one night, the time you caught me and my dad tried to help out, you were right. Him and I went clubbing, and he hates going to straight bars with me because all the girls hit on me and he gets bored. So we went to a gay bar, but guys kept hitting on him and buying him drinks and he was getting uncomfortable. We have this thing where usually, if we go out together, he'll get drunk enough that I can kiss him just once during the night and people will figure he's taken and back off, so that's what we were doing." Naruto scoffed and shook his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Some—tourist, I don't know. Some guy was taking a picture of his boyfriend, but he were in the background of it and—Kiba's my friend. I take care of him, and I didn't want anyone to see what ended up getting published. I guess my reaction told the guys something was up with Kiba or myself, and after a while they figured out he was the Inuzuka heir and then..." Naruto shrugged again. "Kiba's good about staying out of the papers. I've noticed that you are, too, so you must understand what something like this could do to his mother. I was just—trying to help."

Sasuke nodded slowly. He still looked pretty pissed off, but at least he'd listened. And it looked like he believed him. Which was good, considering he was actually telling him the truth, now.

"Why didn't you just tell me about Kiba? About how he was your friend, and nothing more? Why did you lie?"

"I was scared!" Naruto blurted out in a voice that he realized seemed like the answer should have been obvious. "His mom and your dad have this huge rivalry going on. Do you honestly think I was going to introduce the two of you to each other going, 'Hey Inuzuka, this is my boyfriend, Sasuke. Uchiha, this is my best friend since diapers, Kiba' or something? Both of you would've killed me, and then each other."

"We're not our parents, you know." Sasuke said dryly. "Why would I hate him just because his mom and my dad had company shit going down?"

"I don't know, but that's how my brain took it. I panicked. I didn't want to lose either of you. I was selfish."

"Yeah, you were." Sasuke sighed, shaking his head and turning to look to the side, avoiding looking at Naruto. The blond pressed his lips together and chanced taking a few steps forward. He could tell Sasuke was tense when he stopped right in front of him, but he didn't move away.

Reaching out, the blond ran his fingers along the other's cheek, then pressed his forehead to Sasuke's temple.

"I'm sorry I upset you."

That earned his hand being smacked away and Sasuke taking a step back.

"Why are you treating me like a girl?" he demanded angrily.

His defences rising, Naruto threw both hands in the air. "Because you're acting like one!"

"No, this is me royally pissed off at you for lying!" Sasuke snapped, pointing his finger angrily at Naruto. "If you'd just told the truth from the start, none of this would've happened!"

"You left the fucking country!" Naruto yelled. "That's pretty girly!"

"It was either that, or kick the shit out of you!" the Uchiha retorted. "Which I guess I got to do both, considering your current appearance!"

"I just didn't want to lose you, you fucking asshole! I was _going_ to tell you today, but then you fucking ran off like a woman scorned without even bothering to ask me about what you'd seen!"

"Because you didn't deserve that chance after all your fucking lying!" Sasuke shouted, getting right into Naruto's face.

The blond opened his mouth to shout back when someone else screaming froze the words in his lungs.

"Oh my _God_, will you both _shut __**up**_! It's four in the fucking morning! Go fuck each other and let the rest of us fucking _sleep_!"

A window slammed down loudly, and both of them turned to look up at the room the man had been screaming from. Naruto cleared his throat awkwardly, not having really taken into consideration that other people might be present. He could feel a flush creeping up the back of his neck, and saw that Sasuke had one, too.

They both stood in silence for a few seconds, clearing their throats and avoiding eye contact until Naruto finally spoke again.

"I can't take back what I did. All I can say is I'm sorry I upset you. I'm sorry I upset Kiba. I'm sorry any of this happened, and if I could go back and change it, I would, but I can't. Just—please just give me a get out of jail free card just this once." He tried for his most pathetic looking expression, seeing Sasuke's eyes soften ever so slightly, even though his expression remained hard. "Please."

Sasuke looked away from him, letting out a loud sigh. Raking a hand through his hair, he turned on his heel and stalked back towards his apartment.

"You're sleeping on the fucking couch, Uzumaki."

Naruto pumped one fist in the air behind the Uchiha, then grabbed up his fallen bag and rushed after him back towards the apartment.

First thing he was going to do was take a shower. He couldn't feel his ass.

* * *

Something clattering loudly in the kitchen woke Naruto from his slumber with a loud snort bordering on a snore. He opened his eyes, rubbing at them furiously, and looked around, his brain taking its time reminding him of where he was.

He caught sight of Sasuke in the kitchen, the raven visible over the small counter that divided the kitchen from the living room, and yawned widely. Rubbing the back of his head, he threw the covers off himself and stood up off the couch, wincing and stretching his back muscles out.

"I was hoping that would wake you up, you've been sleeping forever."

"I had a long... however long it was since you left." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, shuffling forward and taking a seat at one of the spots at the counter. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, I guess. I kept waking up thinking you were sneaking into bed with me, and I was getting ready to castrate you." Sasuke turned to half-smirk at him and Naruto smiled a little.

"I know when to obey, contrary to popular belief. If I'm gonna get another chance from you, the least I can do is earn it."

"Fucking right," the raven grumbled, the toaster popping loudly behind him. Sasuke pulled two pieces of toast out of it and put them on a plate, turning to Naruto. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

The Uchiha put the plate down in front of Naruto, then pulled three types of jam out of the fridge, handing the blond a knife. Thanking him, Naruto inspected the jams, then grabbed the grape one, opened it, and spread it onto his toast while Sasuke popped two more into the toaster.

"Are you still mad?" Naruto inquired, taking a bite of his toast. Sasuke turned to give him a look, and he smiled, looking down at his plate. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"You could've just told me instead of lying," Sasuke said again, for what felt like the millionth time.

"I know. I know that _now_. I guess I honestly just didn't think you and Kiba would be so... cool with it."

"Is he?" Sasuke asked, Naruto cocking a confused eyebrow. "Cool with it."

"He says he is." Naruto shrugged. "He's more scared of how his mother will react, but I can't blame him. But he says he doesn't care so I believe him." He glanced up at Sasuke briefly. "And you?"

"Like I said last night," Sasuke turned back to the toaster when his toast was done, "we're not our parents. As long as you and him never ask me about anything my dad's doing, I really don't care who you are and who your parents are."

"Hm, guess dad was right."

"What?" Sasuke moved forward to grab the raspberry jam off the counter, spreading it over his toast.

"My dad told me I should be honest with you both. That you would understand, and wouldn't react as badly as I thought you would."

"Your dad is smart. And almost seems to know us better than you do." Sasuke took a bite of his toast and Naruto chuckled.

"I guess, yeah. I'm sorry."

Sasuke just shrugged, turning back to the fridge, toast in one hand and jar of jam in the other. He opened the fridge and put the jam away before reaching for another one off the counter. When they were all back in their respective places, Sasuke leaned forward on the counter across from Naruto and the two of them ate in silence.

"So, are you coming back?" Naruto asked when both their plates were empty.

"Coming back?"

"To England. For Christmas." He pressed his lips together when it looked like Sasuke was about to say no. "Please come back. Your brother booked us tickets back for tonight at one or two or something. He told me if you weren't on the plane, I shouldn't bother being on it, either." He lowered his voice near the end of the sentence, since it seemed like he was being mostly selfish about it, but he wasn't. Sure, he wanted to get back on time for his parents, but he really wanted Sasuke to finish his vacation down there with him.

"I don't know." The raven turned to look anywhere but at him.

"Come on, please? Even if you won't do it for me, do it for your mum? She was crying all morning over you leaving."

Sasuke's head snapped back to look at him, his mouth opening slightly before shutting. "How do you know that?"

"Itachi told me." The blond shrugged.

"Itachi talks too much." Sasuke snorted.

Naruto laughed. "Actually—not really." He shook his head. "Mm."

Sasuke laughed, as well, apparently finding Naruto's response appropriate. "No, I guess not."

The next hour or so was conducted in silence, Sasuke cleaning up their breakfast, and Naruto moving around the apartment to fold a few of his things up and to get the blanket back in Sasuke's closet where it had been pulled from. He was still hoping the other would see reason, and at least agree to go home, considering they both had parents waiting for them. It wasn't fair to punish them because of their own misunderstanding.

He didn't bring it up again, though, deciding to just let Sasuke think it over and decide on his own. He just let the day progress how it would, with the Uchiha mostly ignoring him, and the two of them watching television for most of it. They stopped for lunch, which they went to the campus McDonald to have, and then returned to watch more television, Naruto being sure to keep at least one body's worth of space between himself and Sasuke.

Admittedly, when it was dinner time, he was getting a little nervous. They went out again, this time to Tim Hortons because Sasuke wanted chili—it was weird, Naruto never pegged him as a chili-type. The blond just got himself a coffee and a sandwich, then took a seat across from the Uchiha, biting into his food.

"All right."

Naruto frowned, chewing slowly, and then swallowed. "All right?"

"All right, I'll come back."

The blond tried to suppress his grin, but he didn't think he'd succeeded if the annoyed look on the other's face was any indication.

"I'm not doing it for you, I'm doing it for my parents," he snapped.

"I don't care who it's for, I'm just happy you're coming back." He kicked Sasuke lightly in the shin under the table, and smiled again, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Hn." The Uchiha himself continued eating his chili.

They sat in silence some more, to the point where Naruto felt he was going deaf from how little they were both speaking. He knew he'd fucked up, but he'd explained everything, and a part of him had hoped Sasuke would just forgive and forget, but he knew he was going to have to work for it. He just also knew he had limited time to do so, considering they would be in England for only a few more days before coming back for school.

He didn't like his odds.

"What can I do?" he asked in a low voice, putting his sandwich down and pressing his lips together, looking down at his plate. "I don't... I want things to be okay again." He looked up, Sasuke watching him but not saying a word. "Just tell me what to do. I'm willing to do anything to make this all go away."

"It's never going to _go_ away, Naruto," Sasuke said with a snort. "But, to prove to you I'm actually a guy..."

The blond let out a shout mostly out of shock when the Uchiha's fist came flying at him, but the other only punched him in the arm, and smirked.

"Oh. Oh, I get it." Naruto laughed nervously, rubbing at his arm. "Right. Um... Thanks."

"You're still sleeping on the couch," Sasuke warned him. "Even if we're not going to be sleeping for long. We better make sure we know when our flight leaves, because missing it could mean death for both of us."

"Amen." Naruto grinned and kicked Sasuke lightly in the shin again. The raven just snorted and kicked him back.

Well, it wasn't much, but it was something.


	14. The Snowman

******AN: (Edit) Due to the FF smackdown, I've edited all lemony chapters to be less detailed so if they seem kinda disjointed, that's why. If you want the original versions, they're posted on Ygal. **

**Disclaimer: Stiiiiiill K. Masashi's.**

* * *

"Sasuke."

The raven let out a groan, batting at the hand clutching his shoulder and rolling over, turning his back on whoever was trying to wake him up. The hand just returned and shook harder.

"Sasuke, wake up."

It took a few seconds for his brain to register that it was the blond moron shaking him, and growling, he sat up and peeled open sleepy eyes, seeing him crouched down beside his seat. A stewardess was behind him.

"What?" he snapped. He hadn't slept much the past few days, and getting woken up really wasn't sitting well with him.

"We're landing, they need you to put your seat back up."

"Then why didn't they ask?" he grumbled, shifting into a sitting position and starting to put his seat back upright.

"They tried," Naruto said with a small chuckle, the stewardess thanking him in hushed tones, but Sasuke still heard.

"Hn," he said intelligently.

Naruto laughed and leaned forward. Sasuke felt lips press against his own before really registering what was happening, and before he could think of how to respond, Naruto stood and was gone. The blond was seated in front of him—how Itachi had managed that miracle, Sasuke would never know—so all he saw was the other's back.

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Sasuke cleared his throat and looked around, seeing that all the other passengers were seated upright now, even though a few of them looked like they were trying to sleep some more.

Sasuke just stared out the window at the inky blackness outside until lights came into view. Then the runway did, and a few minutes later, they were on the ground. He was eager to get off the plane, the recycled air was starting to hurt his throat.

When it finally stopped at the gate, he was on his feet immediately, grabbing his bag out of the overhead compartment and moving up beside Naruto, who was still unfastening his seatbelt. The blond chuckled.

"Someone's excited to be back."

"I just wanna get off this plane," he muttered, grabbing Naruto's bag from the overhead compartment and tossing it to him. The blond just laughed again and followed him out.

They followed the signs to customs, and then went to grab the one suitcase Sasuke had repacked for the trip back. While they exited the baggage claim, Naruto's hand kept brushing against Sasuke's and the raven couldn't tell if it was an accident or on purpose.

As angry as he wanted to be, he still couldn't help but feel a little romantic—even though he was against romance, fucking hated it—that Naruto had actually chased him across the world. Sure, Itachi had paid, but still. It was the thought that counted and... it was nice. It almost proved to him that the blond actually gave a shit about him.

So when his tanned hand brushed against his own again, Sasuke twisted his wrist to lightly close his index and middle fingers around one of Naruto's. The blond glanced at him, but the Uchiha kept his gaze fixed forward, though he did notice his boyfriend smile before intertwining their fingers.

Walking towards the exit, Sasuke stopped and frowned, head turned towards one of the other exits.

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Isn't that—is that Itachi?"

Naruto followed his gaze and, sure enough, Itachi was walking towards them with his hands in his pockets and a smirk on his face. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, watching his brother move closer. While he'd like to think the other was happy he was back, he knew it was something else.

"I think my brother got laid," he stated bluntly.

"About time, no wonder he's always so grumpy." Naruto grinned at him. "Probably runs in the family."

"You'd know, wouldn't you?" Sasuke glared, silently reminding him of their almost-sexual encounter. The blond pressed his lips together and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Congratulations, Uzumaki." Itachi stopped in front of them. "You actually succeeded. I'm impressed. Either you're good with words, or my brother is more idiotic than I imagined."

"Nice to see you, too, Itachi," Sasuke said dryly.

His brother just smirked and grabbed his suitcase for him, the three of them walking towards the exit.

"Are mum and dad here?" the younger Uchiha inquired, which earned him a head shake.

"No, they're sleeping. They don't even know you're on your way back. It'll be a nice surprise for them. I came with Kiba."

"Kiba?" Naruto turned to Itachi, shocked and a little confused. "What's he doing here?"

"He never left." Itachi turned to smirk at him.

Sasuke felt the blond tense and saw his face dissolve into a mask of horror. It took him a second to realize why. Because he'd said his brother had obviously gotten laid, and considering what Naruto had said about Kiba...

"Oh God... Oh _God_!"

The blond let go of his hand and bolted out the doors, racing across the lot to a very familiar looking car. Sasuke just cocked an eyebrow and turned to look at his brother, who really did look very pleased with himself.

"You didn't... _actually_, did you?" He was almost afraid to find out the answer.

"Are you really asking me that question?" Itachi inquired, causing Sasuke to sigh with relief. "Of course I did."

Why Sasuke had thought Itachi wouldn't have gone through with it, he had no idea. Maybe he'd mistaken his brother for someone else.

But clearly, he'd done whatever he wished, because Sasuke could see the same brunet he'd seen at Naruto's now punching the crap out of him and attempting to strangle him. The Uchiha would have pitied the many fights his boyfriend had gotten into recently, but all of them appeared to be his own fault, so he had no sympathy.

"I thought Naruto said he wasn't gay."

"Trust me, he's not." Itachi smirked at him. "Yet."

"Does his mother know about this?"

"Of course she does. She'll drop the kidnapping charges eventually."

Sasuke sighed and shook his head, the two of them appearing in front of the fighting morons. Kiba was holding Naruto in a headlock, and the blond's face was actually looking a tinge on the blue side.

As if sensing them, Kiba looked up, but kept his chokehold. "You must be the girlfriend. Nice to finally meet you."

"Am I going to need to pull my pants down to prove to everyone I'm a man?" Sasuke demanded irritably.

"Please don't, I enjoy my eyesight." Itachi flipped keys in his hand and moved around the two boys to the trunk, opening it and putting Sasuke's suitcase inside.

"Sasuke Uchiha," the younger Uchiha finally said, Itachi slamming the trunk and getting into the driver's seat.

"Kiba Inuzuka," the brunet grunted back, Naruto punching him in the side to get him to let go, but he didn't. "Just so you know, your brother's a thief, a kidnapper, and a rapist."

"I don't doubt that. Sorry you were left alone with him."

"Choking," Naruto gasped out, interrupting their conversation. He motioned the arm around his neck, then slapped the ground, gasping.

"Think he deserves to be let go?" Kiba grunted, struggling to keep his hold.

Sasuke watched Naruto, the blond's blue eyes locked with his own. Then, he shrugged. "Nah, pass him out, we can drag him into the car."

The brunet grinned and shifted his gaze to his best friend. "I like this guy. You shoulda introduced us earlier."

Sasuke smirked and crossed him arms, standing in front of the two men and waiting for the blond to pass out.

Sure, it was mean. But the guy deserved it.

Especially for leaving Kiba alone with his psychotic brother.

No one deserved _that_.

* * *

"Wake up."

Gasping loudly at the freezing cold water splashed onto his face, Sasuke turned to look at his brother's retreating back and would have shouted any profanities he could think of were he not now a frozen piece of flesh.

He felt like he was leaving behind pieces of himself when he climbed out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom to get his bathrobe. Water dripped from his hair onto his chest and back and he pulled the cotton robe around himself tightly, letting out a slow breath.

Definitely not the best wake up call he'd ever gotten.

He almost wanted to go back to bed to spite his brother, but he knew he was woken up to go down since his parents were probably up, so he just brushed his teeth and relieved himself, and then moved back into his room.

He glanced out the window and across the street, but Naruto's room was empty—or he was sleeping. He didn't know which.

The ride home had been incredibly awkward, not even because of Naruto and Kiba's fight, but because of Kiba and his brother.

The brunet had ended up letting Naruto go before the blond passed out, but it had been close. Then they'd actually introduced each other properly, and Sasuke had apologized for causing Kiba so much trouble with his brother. Kiba had insisted it wasn't him who should apologize.

They'd spoken for a few minutes outside the car, and Sasuke found out he actually didn't mind Kiba so much. The guy was kind of entertaining. And, as promised by both of them, they were getting along really well—mostly by ganging up on Naruto, but hey, they were getting along.

Itachi had shouted out the window after about twenty minutes of them standing there talking, and then Kiba had hung back a little bit to coax one of the others into the front. Sasuke had noticed, and taken pity on him and tried to sit in the shotgun seat, but Itachi had rather painfully kicked him out, stomped out of the car, and practically hurled the brunet into the seat.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably beside him the whole ride home, while both of them watched Itachi grope and molest the poor moron in the passenger seat.

When they finally got home, Sasuke bolted from the car, really not interested in seeing his brother make out with someone, then he'd said good night to Naruto. His brother had exited the car, and Sasuke had never seen someone drive away so fast.

They'd all gone inside, Sasuke going straight to his room and passing out on his bed. And now, here they all were. Christmas day, which was family day, which meant no Naruto until tomorrow. He supposed he was fine with that, considering they were still kind of unclear on what they were doing now.

Yawning and wrapping his robe around himself more tightly, Sasuke descended the stairs and heard a fork clatter loudly against a plate. Looking up, he saw his mother staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

Itachi smiled, patting her hand. "Merry Christmas, mum."

She turned to him, shocked, and then looked back at Sasuke. "You did this...?" She looked back at Itachi, patted his cheek and then stood up, rushing around the table with her arms outstretched. The second she reached Sasuke, she hugged him tightly.

He felt bad, now. Bad for having left and making her upset. But it was okay, because he'd fixed it. With help from Itachi and Naruto, sure, but at least he'd fixed it. He hugged her back tightly and kissed her cheek.

"Merry Christmas, mum."

"Glad you're back, son." Fugaku was beside him, now, patting his shoulder. "Had us a little worried, there. Cut it a little close, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

"You're here." Mikoto pulled away and cradled his face in her hands, smiling brightly. "That's all that matters."

"Thanks."

After that somewhat awkward moment, Sasuke managed to make his way to the table, and he and his family had a semi-normal breakfast together with no phones ringing, and no talking about work. Though Itachi _did_ bring up something that Sasuke was interested to find out his father's reaction to.

"I've got a boyfriend," he said bluntly halfway through breakfast.

Sasuke's chewing stopped, mostly because he didn't think kidnapping and rape should constitute as a new boyfriend, but his brother was a little weird in the head sometimes.

Most of the time.

All right, always.

"Really?" Mikoto smiled brightly and took another bite of her pancakes. "That's nice, honey. Is it Deidara? You two have been dancing around each other for a long time."

"No, Kiba Inuzuka."

Sasuke's head whipped towards his father, and instead of seeing shock and anger, his father was as calm as ever. As if—what Minato had said about his father being able to separate his private life and his work life was true...

"The way I understand it," Fugaku said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and taking a sip of coffee, "is that you kidnapped him and held him hostage for three days."

"It was only two," Itachi corrected. "One and a half, if we're going to get technical."

"You don't care?" Sasuke asked slowly, looking at his father.

"Why would I care?" Fugaku inquired. "You're dating Naruto."

"Yeah but..." Shaking his head, he decided just to let it drop, not wanting to get involved. "So, how did Kiba's mom react?"

"She was angry about the kidnapping, but I'm sure she's fine with it now that he's home for Christmas." Fugaku paused. "He... _is_ home, right?"

_Oh, good, I'm not the only one who thinks Itachi's a psychopathic murderer._

"Yes, he's home." Itachi smirked a little. "You know, if things go well, maybe our companies could end up merging."

"Let's not go there just yet," Fugaku said with a snort, continuing to eat.

The phone rang, all four of them turning to look at it. When no one moved to get up, Sasuke figured he'd be the safest to answer the phone and shifted to do so, walking into the kitchen and pulling the handle off the cradle.

"Hello?"

"_Merry Christmas. Gotten laid yet?"_

Smirking and shaking his head, Sasuke leaned back against the counter and shoved his free hand in his pocket. "No, I haven't yet. I'm hoping it'll be my Christmas present."

"_Hm, pity. Means you're still sexually frustrated. Make sure you're not when you come home, you're troublesome when you're frustrated." _

"Can't make any promises, but I'll try," Sasuke said with a snort.

"_Is everything okay with you? You sound... different."_

"Is that bad?"

"_No, I don't care either way, you just sound somewhat happier."_

"It's Christmas, Shikamaru."

"_You hate Christmas,"_ the genius reminded him.

"I know. I guess... I have a new understanding of what it means."

"_... I'm hanging up on you now. Please be back to normal by next semester."_

"Merry Christmas, Bambi."

The line went dead and Sasuke shook his head before hanging up.

* * *

To say the day was uneventful would—probably be a lie, really. Though he'd already known what all his presents were, it was still nice unwrapping them. His family had spent all day inside, and they'd watched some movies, and ordered in some Chinese food, and just had an all-around lazy day.

But they laughed a lot, and everyone was really happy, which Sasuke couldn't remember happening last year. His father seemed less stressed, his mother was as happy as always, his brother was recently laid, and Sasuke... well, he felt he'd learned a few things from Naruto.

He'd honestly not expected to be allowed to see him all day, since Christmas was family time, but around seven, they still hadn't eaten dinner—which was weird—and Sasuke found out why when the doorbell rang.

He went to open it, and immediately got crushed into a bear hug, Kushina kissing his cheek and calling him handsome, even though he was wearing his pyjamas still. He noticed she was, too, but it was still weird.

When she finally let him go and ran to hug Mikoto, Sasuke leaned against the side of the door, holding his ribs with one hand and gasping for air. Minato just laughed and patted his shoulder.

"Merry Christmas, Sasuke."

"If I'm still alive to continue celebrating it," Sasuke replied, which made Minato laugh harder and shake his head, disappearing into the house.

Naruto stayed on the porch, hands in his jacket pockets and a smile on his face. Not a grin, or a sleezy smile, an _actual_ smile.

"Walk with me?" he asked, turning his body to the side a little and motioning down the driveway.

Sasuke turned to look behind him at his family, but saw that Minato and Kushina were entertaining them enough. Looking back at Naruto, he raked a hand through his hair and nodded, grabbing his coat and pulling it on, then shoving his feet into his boots.

They both started down the driveway, Sasuke's legs getting cold really fast since his pants were thin. Naruto was also wearing pyjama bottoms, though, so he felt a little better knowing he wasn't the only one suffering.

"How was Christmas for you?" Naruto asked, walking slowly down the street, looking over at Sasuke. The raven just nodded.

"Good. Interesting, honestly. Itachi told my dad about Kiba."

"No way!" Naruto laughed. "Holy shit, what did he say?"

"He actually didn't care, aside from the fact that Itachi kidnapped him." Sasuke snorted. "Apparently my dad cares about as much as I do about all this." He shrugged. "Guess that's a good thing."

"Yeah." Naruto pulled one hand out of his pocket and wrapped it around Sasuke's shoulders. The Uchiha let him, but didn't take his own hands out of his pockets. They were cold. "Kiba called and said his mother was only pissed he'd gotten kidnapped, but didn't much care about who had taken him."

"You caused yourself all this worry and anxiety for nothing."

"Yeah." Naruto laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did. Not as smart as people think I am."

"Nobody thinks you're smart," Sasuke informed him, the blond bumping him with his hip. "So now that we're all being honest, wanna tell me the truth about how you got all beat up?"

"Well, I was walking out of the airport, and my friend Kiba—"

"Before that," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

"Okay, that was when I went to Canada to convince my boyfriend to—"

"Before _that_," Sasuke said with a sigh.

"Oh, you mean the _first_ time I got beat up in the past three days?" Naruto asked dryly. Sasuke snorted.

"You deserved every beating."

"Asshole."

"Moron."

"Dick."

"Only if you promise to suck it."

Naruto snorted and let a laugh escape his throat, bumping Sasuke with his hip again and sighing. "It happened when I went to France. That's where Kiba is right now. We went to see a concert and these guys started something so I finished it."

"Kiba didn't have a mark on him, what did he do, stand back and watch?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah, he's uh—better at ducking than I am." Naruto laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh at that, because it was actually ridiculously true, considering how many hits he'd gotten in during their not-fight in Canada. He called it a not-fight because Naruto was basically hitting Sasuke's fist with his face.

"What concert?" he asked when he'd calmed down, mostly out of curiosity.

"All That Remains."

Sasuke froze, Naruto stopping short as well, turning to look at him.

"What?"

"I wanted to see that with you," he accused, narrowing his eyes. The blond winced.

"Yeah, I know. Which was why I was so horrified when you asked me. Because had it been a day earlier, I'd have gone with you and not Kiba."

"Tch." Sasuke shrugged Naruto's arm off his shoulders and stalked away into a nearby park, scowling slightly.

"Come on, Sasuke, that's not fair!" Naruto chased after him, walking backwards and pouting. "I would've gone with you, you know I would have!"

"But if you'd just introduced Kiba and I from the get go, all three of us could have gone," he insisted, annoyed he'd missed out.

"I'm sorry." Naruto forced him to stop. "I'm really sorry, okay? Next time they're nearby, I promise I'll even get the tickets. Okay?" He brought one hand up to Sasuke's face, his cold fingers brushing against his skin.

"Fine," Sasuke acquiesced finally.

"Good." Naruto smiled and then leaned in to kiss him.

The Uchiha would've been lying if he said he hadn't missed the blond's taste. He wrapped both arms around the other's neck and pulled him closer, sucking lewdly on his tongue. Naruto took a step forward and Sasuke allowed him to push him back until he felt his back thump against something hard and cold.

He didn't have time to dwell on it for long, because Naruto's mouth shifted from his own to his neck, sucking on his pulse and biting down so hard Sasuke was sure he would have teeth impressions in his skin for days.

"Fuck, I want you so bad," Naruto breathed against his neck once he was done, licking his way back up to his chin and kissing him again, his thigh pushing between Sasuke's legs.

"Nn, then what keeps taking you so long?" Sasuke breathed once the blond pulled away from their kiss again to mark the other side of his neck.

He inhaled sharply when cold fingers found their way up under his shirt, exploring his chest almost urgently. Groaning, he buried one hand in the other's hair and tugged at the back of his jacket with the other.

"Fuck," he hissed out.

"God, stop making those noises," Naruto almost begged.

"How can you expect me to when you keep holding out on me?" Sasuke demanded, tugging on the blond's hair harshly to get him to lift his head and crushing their lips together again.

He felt Naruto's hands fumbling for a few seconds, unsure of what he was doing until the blond pulled himself away slightly, and then his hands were tugging at Sasuke's pants. The cold air hitting his skin was like a slap in the face.

Grunting under his breath, Naruto grabbed him with both hands and pulled up, Sasuke wrapping his legs up around the blond to the best of his ability, considering his pants were still wrapped around his knees.

The blond improvised, though, pushing him against the surface that the raven was leaning against.

"This is gonna hurt," Naruto warned breathlessly in the raven's ear.

"It's okay, we both know I'm a masochist."

Naruto just chuckled and followed through with what Sasuke had been waiting for since they'd first met. It _did _hurt, but not so much that it was taking away from the pleasure of finally being _fucked_ by Naruto.

He felt the blond exhale shakily against his neck, and Sasuke just smirked, one hand still gripping the other's hair, and the other pulling at his jacket.

"Move, before I regret letting you fuck me."

"Screw you, Uchiha."

"I believe we're already covering that, Uzuma—" He cut off with a cry. "Fuck!"

His hands both shifted to gripping Naruto's jacket, his lower back rubbing against the cold surface behind him.

Grunting, he bit at Naruto's jawline, since it was the only thing his teeth could reach, and panted against his ear.

Sasuke still didn't believe this was happening. After days of sexual tension and the need to just get fucked by this Adonis, it seemed almost surreal for it to actually be happening, especially in the middle of a snowy park.

Letting out another shout, his eyes slid shut and his breathing came faster. He could tell Naruto was close, but the blond wasn't going to get off before him.

Sasuke was all right with that.

Tugging at the back of his jacket, Sasuke let out a half-strangled scream of Naruto's name with his release.

Less than ten seconds later, he felt the blond go rigid, Sasuke's name falling breathlessly from his lips.

Naruto pushed all of his weight against Sasuke to keep them both up, but the raven slowly put his feet back on the ground. He winced, knowing he'd have to change his pants the second he got back to the house, but not really caring.

That had been the best fuck of his life.

When he felt he could safely move again, he pushed at Naruto to get him to take a step back so he could pull up his pants. His ass was getting numb, and he wanted to keep that. It was important to him, it allowed him to sit down.

Getting them back up, he watched Naruto, the other's blue eyes locked on Sasuke's crotch and his tongue coming out to moisten his lips. The Uchiha snorted.

"Don't even think about it."

"Too late," Naruto insisted, grinning at him.

Snorting again, Sasuke took a step forward and then turned to look at what they'd been fucking against. He cocked an eyebrow, then looked back at Naruto incredulously.

"Did you just fuck me against a snowman?"

Naruto looked past him at the mounds of snow, and then grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did."

"I'm gonna get frostbite on my ass." Sasuke shoved Naruto in the chest, stalking past him through the snow.

The blond just laughed hysterically before running to catch up, entwining his fingers with Sasuke's before leaning over to kiss his temple. "Merry Christmas."

"Best present ever," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

"Good to know, but I have a real present for you at home."

_Oh?_ Sasuke was intrigued now. Good thing he had a present for Naruto, too.

* * *

The present giving had had to wait, since the second they got home, their parents were wanting to know where they were and had ushered them to the dining room for dinner. Which had been awkward for Sasuke since he still had to change his pants, and his brother was staring at him with disgust for almost the entire meal.

Every time he'd tried to excuse himself to go to the bathroom, Kushina or his mother would force him back into his seat and continue blabbering on about whatever it was they were talking about. He didn't manage to escape until dinner was done and the women were in the kitchen getting dessert ready. Minato had quickly followed because he was afraid for everyone's health having his wife so close to food that would be served.

Sneaking up the stairs, Sasuke bolted for his room and slammed the door shut. Grabbing a clean pair of pants, he rushed into the bathroom and peeled off the soiled ones, wincing slightly and grabbing a wet cloth to clean himself off with before pulling on the new pair. He felt a million times better once he was clean, and sighed with relief before going back downstairs.

Itachi was in a better mood after that, and they all ate dessert chatting and joking about the year to come. When coffee was being served, Itachi was excused from the table and told he could go out to celebrate, which he did. Sasuke eyed him suspiciously on his way out the door, mostly because he had grabbed his passport. He hoped Naruto hadn't noticed, otherwise the blond was going to spend the night trying to protect Kiba.

After he left, Sasuke asked to be excused, and he and Naruto were told they could go wherever they liked. Naruto left the house briefly so he could go get Sasuke's present, and the raven went upstairs to his room to wait for him with his own.

When the blond returned, he grinned happily, bouncing into the room and right up to Sasuke, kissing him briefly and then holding out a wrapped present. Snorting at his excitement, the Uchiha took it, then hesitated before giving his own.

"Open together, or one at a time?"

"I wanna be greedy and say together but, I think one at a time."

"Okay." Sasuke put Naruto's present on the desk and then started unwrapping his own. When the paper fell away, he had to admit, it hadn't been what he was expecting. Not to say he didn't think Naruto could be deep, but he'd expected something stupid, like a calendar or some cheesy romance novel as a stupid joke, but this...

It was a leather-bound journal with an intricate pattern embossed on the cover. When he opened it, he found the pages were blank, and off-white, as if the book were very old. He was literally speechless, and felt like his own present now was just stupid.

"Do you not like it?" Naruto asked, sounding nervous.

"What? No, of course not. I just—wow." Sasuke laughed. "Wow, Naruto, this is... Thank you. This is amazing. Thank you." He leaned forward, grabbing the blond's shirt and pulled him closer to kiss him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Naruto grinned. "I'm glad you like it."

"Makes my present lame," Sasuke said with a snort. "But, here." He reached back for the envelope and handed it to Naruto.

The blond took it curiously, then opened it and pulled out its contents. His eyes bugged out and a ridiculous grin spread across his face before he whooped and started jumping around the room like a moron. Sasuke just watched him, shocked but pleased that Naruto was happy.

"Oh my God, thank you!" Naruto ran back to him and fell to his knees so he was level with Sasuke, since the raven was sitting down, and hugged him around the middle. "Thank you so much! Oh my God, I've always wanted to go to Hawaii!"

"I'm glad you like it," Sasuke said, relieved, but trying not to show it too much. "They're open tickets, so you can use them whenever you want. And I got two because, I don't know, just figured you'd want company."

"Oh definitely!" Naruto pulled away and grinned. "Kiba's gonna be awesome to chill with in Hawaii."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched and his jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything. He averted his eyes and tried not to snap at Naruto for the insensitivity of his comment when the blond snorted and hit him in the chest lightly.

"And you call _me_ a dumbass. I was kidding." Naruto turned the other's head, his fingers on the raven's chin. "If I'm gonna spend a week in Hawaii, I'm going with someone I can fuck in the ocean." He grinned.

The Uchiha snorted, but a smile formed on his face anyway. "That's only if we decide this is going to be long-term."

"What, us?" Naruto asked, cocking an eyebrow. Then he grinned. "Oh we'll last. You're not going to escape me that easily, asswipe."

"We'll see, dumbass." Sasuke smirked.

Naruto snorted, clearly not believing him, which the Uchiha supposed was fine. He wasn't interested in giving Naruto up, anyway.

Leaning forward, he pressed his lips to the other's again, hoping that the rest of their holidays were more eventful, and involved less lying.

He was pretty optimistic.


	15. The Epilogue

**Disclaimer: K. Masashi's still...**

**

* * *

One Month Later.**

"Are you sure your dad's all right with that?" Naruto asked into his phone, walking slowly down the heated corridor of the building he'd just finished class in. Other students were pushing past him and moving around him to get to class, but he was done for the day, which was great because so was Sasuke.

_"He doesn't really care. Like I keep telling you, him and your dad said as long as our grades don't slip, we can visit as often as we want. Not like I can't afford it."_

"Yeah, I know. But it'd be nice if I went up to you every now and then. I wanna meet your friends, instead of us always having to avoid all of mine."

_"We can do that for our next weekend, okay? I'll have you come up here. We're still on for Hawaii during Reading Break, right?"_

"Fuck yes, we are!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, pushing through the doors and out into the cold air of winter. It was much colder here than in England, and he would be glad when spring finally hit. "I can't wait. You in a bathing suit. Or, you know, naked."

_"Moron! Wait until you're home before saying things like that!"_ He was willing to bet anything his boyfriend was blushing.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry." Naruto laughed. "So," he lowered his voice to make himself sound huskier, "what are you wearing?"

_"I am __**not**__ answering that,"_ Sasuke snapped.

"Aw, come on, princess, don't want me getting hard on my way home without being able to do anything about it? You know I love it when you tease me lik—"

"Merde!"

Sasuke snorted down the line. _"I hear your puppy's caught up with you."_

"Yeah, he's got bad timing," Naruto sighed, but stopped anyway so Kiba could actually reach him.

"Merde! Merde, merde, merde! Naruto!" He practically jumped on the blond, twisting him around and hiding behind him. "Fucking hell, save me!"

The blond was completely disoriented, having been turned around and now confused as to which direction he was meant to be going in. He looked over his shoulder at his friend, ducking his head under his jacket.

"Kiba, what are you doing?"

"He won't stop following me!" Kiba whined against his lower back.

"Who?"

"Who do you _think_? Itachi!"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "Itachi's not even here."

"Oh yes he is! And so is your retard boyfriend!"

_"Great, nice one. Your mutt can't keep his fucking mouth shut."_

The blond perked up, looking around excitedly and grinning. "You're here? Seriously? Where?"

_"At your apartment. So ditch the mutt and hurry home."_ He could hear the smirk in the other's voice and groaned, wanting so bad to get there.

"See you soon." He hung up.

"See you soon my ass, fucknut! You have to help me, this is _your_ fault!" Kiba whined.

Ignoring him, Naruto scrolled through his contacts until he found the number he was looking for and called it. The line clicked, but no one spoke.

"Hey dude, how's it going? Kiba needs to hide out for a little while, I was hoping you could take him off my hands. We're close to the western parking lot."

The line clicked and Naruto grinned before hanging up. Sure, it was a dick thing to do, but his boyfriend was waiting for him, and he was _not_ babysitting Kiba all night.

"Who did you call?"

"A friend, don't worry, he'll keep you safe. I'll wait with you until he gets here."

It was a good thing Kiba kept his head in Naruto's back the whole time, because otherwise he would have seen Itachi coming. The Uchiha nodded a thank you, moved around Naruto, then picked Kiba up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Wh-what? What? Putain! Naruto! T'es un con! Un _con_! J't'hais!"

"Bye, Kiba! Have fun!"

_"Merde!" _

Naruto bolted for his car, flipping through his keys to find the right one. He jumped into it once he did and peeled out of the parking lot, almost hitting another car, but only half-caring. He hadn't seen Sasuke in a week and a half. That might seem like nothing, but it was like an eternity for them.

Driving like a psycho down the street, he stopped only when he had to, and sped through a lot of yellow lights. Making it into his garage, he bolted from his car, not even bothering to bring his bag, and hurried up the stairs. Reaching his apartment, breathing hard, he found the right key to unlock the door and pushed it open, closing it behind himself and hurrying through, checking all the rooms.

He got to his bedroom, and grinned, finding Sasuke lying on his back on the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of sweats.

"What kept you?" The raven smirked.

"Sorry. Had to let the dog out." Naruto crawled onto the bed, looming over Sasuke. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course not." Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, I didn't miss you, either, princess."

"Dumbass."

"Asshole."

Sasuke leaned upwards to bite his nose, and Naruto grinned before he kissed him.

This was how life should always be.

Completely spontaneous.

**END.**

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-cheers- Another one bites the dust! 8D Hope it was enjoyed :) Sorry comment replies have been non-existent |D -feels like a bitch- I'm just really busy, I swear, I'm sorry :(  
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